Civilian Gun Club Wins Battle Against Army Reserve Base

I’m not someone who likes rules, as a general thing, but I try to follow them. What bothers me is when other people don’t.

Criminals, of course, are never going to follow the rules–at least not the laws, though there are often rules in their world they do follow–but when others who aren’t criminals think the rules don’t matter to them, it pisses me off. 

That’s what was happening at Fort Devens, in Massachusetts. The Army Reserve base was supposed to allow a civilian gun club to use the range there for a reasonable price. They didn’t have to lose money on it, but they couldn’t try to make a profit off of it, and they had to allow it.

Only, things got…complicated, and the club had to fight back.

Well, it seems they finally achieved victory.

The Ft. Devens Rifle & Pistol Club, Inc., is growing and it’s well deserved. The small gun club took on the United States Army over range access and won after a lengthy legal fight.

This week, several Club members returned to the ranges of Fort Devens for the first time in nearly five years.

There have been some changes, which the Club’s lawyers fought hard for during several pitched legal battles.

The Club must now pay only $16.98 per range outing—that’s the club’s total cost, not an individual fee.

If members want to shoot at plastic “Ivan” torso targets on automated ranges, the Club will pay $18.61.

“That’s quite a bit less than the $250-per-range-outing Fort Devens tried to charge us, which the federal court knocked out,” said club treasurer, James Gettens, an attorney and Iraq War veteran.

The club can use two rifle ranges per month, but it gave up the right to shoot handguns at the Fort. However, most members belong to other ranges where they shoot handguns. They come to the Fort for the rifle ranges.

Another new rule requires the Club’s Range Safety Officers to complete NRA’s RSO training, even though many are already NRA certified. This is a major change. For years, Fort Devens range officials belittled NRA training.

Also, the base was trying to charge the club $140 a day for “Porta Johns,” which only cost the base $2.29 each day.

In other words, the base wanted to milk what it could out of the club, either to discourage them from coming at all or to make up for expenditures elsewhere on the base.

Regardless, they’d previously lost in court, then kept up the shenanigans because base officials thought no one would do anything. However, the club filed a motion for an order of contempt against those base officials. After all, they were in contempt of court.

It’s speculated that scared base leaders who recognized this club wasn’t interested in just rolling over and playing dead.

They fought back and won, as they should have, because it was kind of a no-brainer.

The truth is that this is a gun range supported with taxpayer money. While I get that it shouldn’t cost the Department of Defense a significant amount to open these ranges up to the public–though I can make an argument about why they should–that’s not a reason to make it onerous on civilian organizations who want to use these ranges.

There’s a line, and Fort Devens crossed it. 

They severely crossed it, then they doubled down, expecting to get away with it.

Unfortunately, the fact that it ever got to this point should be grounds for someone being relieved for cause. I doubt that will happen, but it should, because everything about this was wrong.