Can I get me a drone hunting license here?

In Deer Trail, Colorado, the answer to that question may soon be “Yes.” The issue of drones being used in the United States took off when Rand Paul pulled a 13 hour filibuster on the nomination of John Brennan ((Rand Paul launches talking filibuster against John Brennan)) for director of the CIA.

Senator Paul couldn’t get a straight answer on whether or not the Federal Government could use a drone to kill an American Citizen ((Eric Holder: Drone Strike To Kill U.S. Citizen On American Soil Legal)) who was not an immediate threat. The scenario was the suspect was sitting at a cafe drinking coffee and reading a book. Needless to say, many people are rather angry that Holder and Obama think it’s just a nifty idea to launch a Hellfire missile at someone they think is a threat with no due process of law.

Well, Deer Trail decided to deal with the issue in a unique and potentially lethal, (To Drones), way. Here are some of the details from the Washington Times:

The small town of fewer than 600 people will become the first in the nation to encourage its residents to shoot down the unmanned vehicles if a drone-hunting ordinance passes at Tuesday night’s town council meeting.

I have a feeling this is going to pass. Here’s why.

In preparation for Tuesday night’s vote, at least 157 people already have signed up for a “drone hunting license,” which costs $25, according to Denver television station CBS-4.

I wonder if this will be limited to residents of Deer Trail, the state of Colorado, or if anyone can get one?

If the ordinance passes, as local officials expect, residents of Deer Trail with a license legally could shoot drones out of the sky. The town plans to offer cash rewards — dubbed “trophies” by local drone opponents — for each downed craft.

“Right now we don’t have drones flying in our skies. We want to keep it that way. … If you don’t want your drone to go down, don’t fly in town. That’s our motto,” Phillip Steel, a Deer Trail resident who drafted the ordinance, told CBS.

This ordinance, while popular in many areas, is NOT popular among one group. The FAA. In another article in the Washington Times:

People who fire guns at drones are endangering the public and property and could be prosecuted or fined, the Federal Aviation Administration warned Friday.

The FAA released a statement in response to questions about an ordinance under consideration in the tiny farming community of Deer Trail, Colo., that would encourage hunters to shoot down drones. The administration reminded the public that it regulates the nation’s airspace, including the airspace over cities and towns.

A drone “hit by gunfire could crash, causing damage to persons or property on the ground, or it could collide with other objects in the air,” the statement said. “Shooting at an unmanned aircraft could result in criminal or civil liability, just as would firing at a manned airplane.”

The answer to this threat is simple. Don’t fly drones over areas where they aren’t wanted. Now some people may think the drone thing isn’t a problem. On the federal level, not yet, but there is at least one area where it has been a problem and the drone was blown out of the sky. According to NBC 10 Philadelphia:

Police are investigating an incident at a Berks County hunting club in which someone on the hunting grounds allegedly targeted a mechanical flying object rather than a living and breathing one. Showing Animals Respect and Kindness (SHARK) are in the midst of a campaign against the Wing Pointe commercial hunting grounds in Hamburg, Berks County and its live pigeon shoots in which the birds are shot down. SHARK began to use an “Octocopter,” a remote controlled flying machine with a high tech video camera, to secretly record the pigeon shoots as they happen.

So what happened when the hunters spotted this drone flying over their property? I’ll give you three guesses, but you will need only one.

“The pigeon shooters are basically going into hiding,” said Steve Hindi, president of SHARK. “So they’re using a ring that’s up a hill and completely surrounded by trees. So the only way you can get to it is through the air.”

The drone, nicknamed “Angel,” was recording a live pigeon shoot on Sunday around 3 p.m. when investigators say it was suddenly struck by gunfire. State Police are investigating the incident. SHARK claims this is the fourth time the drone has been shot at while trying to spy on what they claim are inhumane pigeon shoots.

Four times? You would think these moonbats would take the hint after it had been shot down the second time. Now this occurred back in November 2012, and I think I heard that it was ruled that this idiot was basically trespassing and that he was out of luck. If anyone has more information on this, please let me know in the comments or via the blog Contact page.

As I have mentioned in the past, there is a use for drones inside the United States. They can be used in emergency situations like fires, searching for people who are lost, local communications, (Acting as a flying cell tower for instance), mapping, and in very narrow law enforcement roles. Now the drones used by the CIA and the Military tend to fly at least 5000 feet or more above the ground specifically so they don’t get shot down. Also, it makes them harder to spot. The flip side is they can’t peek easily into people’s windows. However, there is also the issue of commercial uses for drones.

Drones still are primarily used by law enforcement, the military and for research purposes, but the commercial market is expected to explode in the next few years. The Federal Aviation Administration already has issued the first licenses for commercial drone use and is scheduled to fully integrate drones into U.S. skies by 2015.

And this is why people are concerned. Drones tend to be rather small, unlike a helicopter or airplane. Helicopters are noisy and if a plane starts circling, it will be noticed.

The surveillance potential of drones has led Deer Trail, along with more than 30 states and local governments across the nation, to draft rules dictating what drones can do, where they can fly and what types of data they can collect.

Think of Google and their streetcam fiasco ((Google Street View Cams Collected Private Content From WiFi Networks)) a few years ago. That was when it came out that they were also collecting data on open wifi access points. The claimed it was a mistake, but no one believes them. Now I’ve gone to the city home page, but it looks like you will either have to call or write them regarding purchasing one of these licenses. Personally, I hope they put a form online and a way to purchase the license. I want one just to say I have a real “Drone hunting license.” I think the town could make a fortune.

Thatisall

~The Angry Webmaster~

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