A loophole of the highest caliber

It’s OK for hunters in Alaska to fire away near schools.

At least that’s how one must interpret state law that does not dissuade, penalize, ticket or in any other way discourage hunters from firing their weapons near or around school buildings and property.

Following up on an Oct. 3 incident where a trespassing hunter shot a spruce hen from a tree less than 100 yards from a playground filled with children outside on recess at Trapper Creek Elementary School, the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman has learned except for trespassing, the unidentified hunter broke no other laws for discharging his firearm so close to a playground full of students.

Alaska State Troopers never saw a formal report filed on the incident and weren’t called about it until nearly 90 minutes had passed, AST spokeswoman Megan Peters said.

Had the hunter been apprehended, it may not have made much difference in relation to his shooting near a school.

“There is no law saying someone with a gun (or firing a gun) can’t be in the vicinity of a school,” she says in a response to the Frontiersman’s attempt to follow up on the story. “The person would have had to be on school property for it to be illegal.”

So, firing at or near a playground of unsuspecting children is OK, as long as one isn’t physically on school property?

Apparently, this same problem came to light last year as well when a group of people were duck hunting near a school, Peters says. AST was called, but “it is the same thing. They were not on school property with a gun. They were just near it.”

In many areas of the Mat-Su Valley and Alaska, the rural nature of the landscape can be deceptive. A hunter could be near a school and not know it; or, a hunter could be near a school, know it, and still fire at game knowing it’s not illegal as long as he or she doesn’t set foot on the school’s physical property. Either way, this is bad news for schools, children and hunters.

School children are never in season.

We don’t want to deny hunters their freedom to pursue game in Alaska. We also don’t want to report how an errant bullet found its way to a local playground with tragic results. Drug use, smoking and sex offenders aren’t allowed within a vicinity of schools that extends beyond the physical property a school occupies. The same should hold true for discharging firearms.

Responsible hunters know what’s beyond the path of their shot before discharging a weapon. Clearly we need legislation to make sure others are compelled to do the same. We have found a loophole of the highest caliber. We challenge our state lawmakers in the Senate and House to sew it up.