Florida Bill Allows Homeowners to Use ‘Reasonable Force’ Against Unwanted Drones

Florida lawmakers are unlikely to advance legislation this session that would repeal some of the gun control laws enacted after Parkland, including blocking under-21s from purchasing firearms at retail. The state’s ban on open carry is likely to remain in place as well. 

That’s bad enough, but to make matters worse a bill that’s sailed through committee and is now pending a vote on the floor of the state Senate could end up misleading gun owners into believing they have the right to shoot down any drone that appears over their property; placing them in legal jeopardy at both the state and federal level. As Fox News reports: 

If passed, the bill would allow homeowners to take matters into their own hands if a drone is spotted over their property, but does not specify what constitutes “reasonable force,” raising red flags that could force a showdown between Florida law and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). 

Currently, federal law prohibits anyone from tampering with an aircraft while it is in the air, with violators facing hefty fines and up to five years in jail.

“It’s illegal under federal law to shoot at an aircraft,” the FAA said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “A private citizen shooting at any aircraft – including unmanned aircraft – poses a significant safety hazard.”

The FAA declined to comment on the bill, citing the department’s inability to comment on pending legislation. 

The bill’s sponsor, state Sen. Keith L. Truenow, R-FL, did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

The bill would directly conflict with federal law, opening the door for homeowners to face confusion regarding what is permitted.

I recently wrote about the lack of specificity in defining “reasonable force” in Indiana’s self-defense laws, and this bill in Florida could prove to be even more problematic unless there are clear guidelines about what, exactly, homeowners are allowed to do if a drone appears over their property. Someone may very well believe that it’s reasonable to treat that drone like a clay target and blast it out of the sky, but doing so could result in felony charges filed by the federal government and Florida law wouldn’t provide any kind of legal shield. 

While the bill does not explicitly legalize using a firearm to take down a nosy drone, [attorney Raul] Gastesi believes the possibility could have dangerous consequences, since everything that goes up, must come down.

“The discharge or the use of the device is not as dangerous as the consequences, which is with [the drone] falling,” Gastesi told Fox News Digital. “Florida has strict gun laws as far as discharging a weapon in a residential area [and] over residential neighborhoods.

“But if you use it the wrong way, you can kill people and go to jail for a long time.”

State law prohibits firing a gun in local neighborhoods, with the exception being for self-defense. However, Gastesi does not believe using a firearm to shoot down a drone would qualify.

“Are you defending property when you are taking down a drone,” Gastesi said. “I think you’re defending your right to privacy. I don’t necessarily think that you’re defending property. It would be an argument to somebody charged with that crime that they’re defending their property, [but] the way the statute’s written, I don’t think it would prevail. It’s very concerning, giving people rights to discharge firearms in open spaces in public is really concerning and I don’t know how my fellow Floridians are going to react to something like this.”

The bill doesn’t explicity give people the right shoot down a drone or to discharge a firearm in open spaces in public, which is part of the problem. If Truenow’s bill becomes law people may very well assume that they have the right to use a gun to bring down a drone, but unless that’s specifically spelled out in statute that’s an awful big assumption. And as Gastesi points out, even if the laws of the state of Florida change, the law of gravity will remain the same. What goes up must come down, and that includes disabled drones as well as any errant rounds that miss their target. It’s one thing if someone’s shooting at a drone that’s flying over their 400-acre cattle farm. It’s something else entirely if they’re banging away at a drone in a a neighborhood packed with houses, townhomes, and apartments. 

I appreciate the intent behind this legislation, but the devil is always in the details and I’m not convinced that (as written anyway) Truenow’s bill will do more to help residents than unintentionally harm them by setting them up for prosecution if they decide that it’s reasonable to break out their rifle or shotgun to shoot down a drone flying over their property.