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Going On a Drone Hunt
Townhall.com ^ | April 14, 2014 | Katie Kieffer

Posted on 04/14/2014 4:25:05 AM PDT by Kaslin

Going on a drone hunt. Got me a gun. I'm not afraid. Look, what’s up ahead?

Phil Steel is a law-abiding American citizen who is fed up with drones. In a bold move to call attention to the Obama administration’s unethical drone policy, he recently championed drone hunting.

Steel resides in the bucolic Colorado town of Deer Trail. Earlier this month, Steel brought a proposal before the Deer Trail’s Board of Trustees: locals should be able to apply for and obtain hunting licenses to shoot down drones. Steel’s idea received traction and went to ballot before the town’s 350 registered voters. The proposed ordinance stated, in part:

“Whereas, many Western communities in rural America provide monetary incentives (bounties) for the killing of predators that are injurious to Man and his interests, the Town of Deer Trail likewise establishes hunting licenses and bounties for the killing of unmanned aerial vehicles, in keeping with the Western traditions of sovereignty and freedom. [sic]”

Steel’s ordinance was ultimately voted down, however his idea caught the national media’s attention. For example, TIME Magazine picked up the story, pointing out that Steel’s ordinance: “…highlighted [growing civilian] displeasure with government surveillance…”

The Federal Aviation Association (FAA) even responded to Steel’s ordinance by releasing a statement: “Shooting at an unmanned aircraft could result in criminal or civil liability, just as would firing at a manned airplane.”

This is absurd. The current administration—as I expose in my forthcoming book, Let Me Be Clear, has used a drones to target and kill an innocent young American citizen and has yet to be held accountable for this murder. Last week, federal judge Rosemary M. Collyer disappointingly and inexplicably threw out the young man’s family’s lawsuit against the Obama administration for murdering their son—along with six additional innocent civilians—three years ago in Yemen.

It is shocking to realize that we have a former lawyer and self-described “constitutional law professor” representing us in the White House and yet our constitutional rights have never been in greater jeopardy. Obama acts like the law of the land and the laws of nature are “suggestions.” Some lawyer!

Whether you’re grilling hamburgers in your backyard this summer—or enjoying a glass of wine and a bowl of gnocchi in a rustic Italian restaurant—you face the threat of unjust lethal drone force. As I’ve written here and here, America’s international and domestic drone policies are silently threatening the natural and constitutional rights of all American citizens. Despite assurances from Attorney General Eric Holder, Judge Collyer’s recent decision raises new doubts on whether American citizens are safe from lethal drone force abroad and at home.

As humans, we have a natural, God-given right to our private property—and our first piece of private property is our own body. The Fourth Amendment acknowledges this natural right. Furthermore, we also have a right to due process. The right to due process is protected by the Fifth Amendment which states that no American citizen may be: “…deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.”

Hunters and gun owners of America: I encourage you to speak up. Take a cue from Phil Steel and propose drone hunting legislation in your town and state. Even if it is voted down (the first time), you will make an important point: the federal government may not deprive us of our natural and constitutional rights to private property and due process.

I’m going drone hunting. Gonna catch a big one. I’m not afraid.


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To: SeeSharp
I don't think it's realistic to think one can take out a UAV with a bullet.

Maybe not "A" bullet, but...



21 posted on 04/14/2014 8:13:45 AM PDT by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going...)
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To: Alas Babylon!
To lure the birds in close so I can make the shot.

Now THERE is a concept!

22 posted on 04/14/2014 8:14:46 AM PDT by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going...)
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To: Alas Babylon!
If it was that easy, the Taliban would be doing it daily.

How do we 'know' they're not?

23 posted on 04/14/2014 8:15:12 AM PDT by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going...)
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To: dangerdoc
Just what would you use to shoot down a UAV?

Another RC model; dragging a swath of deer fencing?



24 posted on 04/14/2014 8:24:47 AM PDT by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going...)
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To: Kaslin

Ummm....no. We use drones for crop research.


25 posted on 04/14/2014 8:27:35 AM PDT by AppyPappy
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To: wastoute
Go back to your old physics textbook.

You mean, the one that says that if you shoot at something and miss the projectile never lands?

Or the one that says if you shoot a rifle in an upward trajectory without hitting anything the bullet reaches escape velocity and ends up in outer space?
26 posted on 04/14/2014 11:44:28 AM PDT by snowrip (Liberal? You are a socialist idiot with no rational argument.)
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To: snowrip

No; the one that postulates that a bullet, fired straight up, will, upon it’s return to earth, will be traveling the same speed at impact as when it left the barrel.


27 posted on 04/14/2014 1:10:37 PM PDT by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going...)
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To: snowrip

https://www.google.com/search?q=flying+drone&sourceid=ie7&rls=com.microsoft:en-US:IE-Address&ie=&oe=&rlz=1I7ADRA_enUS475#q=flying+drone&rls=com.microsoft:en-US:IE-Address&tbm=shop


28 posted on 04/14/2014 1:11:13 PM PDT by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going...)
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To: dangerdoc
We're definitely gonna need a home version of this:


29 posted on 04/14/2014 1:15:37 PM PDT by nascarnation (Toxic Baraq Syndrome: hopefully infecting a Dem candidate near you)
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To: nascarnation

A lot of volume and pressure from a water hose would work if the little beasty dares venturing to close!


30 posted on 04/14/2014 1:19:58 PM PDT by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going...)
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To: Elsie

Earth has a layer of breathable gasses, the bullet will land at a substantially reduced velocity.


31 posted on 04/14/2014 1:48:50 PM PDT by dangerdoc
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To: nascarnation

Those things leave a mess, they pile brass by the bushel.


32 posted on 04/14/2014 1:50:21 PM PDT by dangerdoc
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To: dangerdoc

Hey maybe we can get nominated for a recycling award!


33 posted on 04/14/2014 1:51:31 PM PDT by nascarnation (Toxic Baraq Syndrome: hopefully infecting a Dem candidate near you)
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To: Elsie

I don’t think that makes sense. The bullet should only reach terminal velocity on the way back down.


34 posted on 04/14/2014 7:11:49 PM PDT by dinodino
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To: dinodino
The bullet should only reach terminal velocity on the way back down.

You are correct; although 'terminal' for a hunk of lead would be a bit different than a falling human's body.

There is NO way for it to be the same as when fired, unless it was done in a complete vacuum.

35 posted on 04/14/2014 7:46:42 PM PDT by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going...)
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