I certainly hope you meant “CLEARED of all charges”, John. Otherwise, the implication is that the authorities locked up the landowner for defending his property.
And how much did that cost him? I’d argue that the drone operator won even if no charges stuck.
Also, how many avg FL shooters can actually hit a small target like a flying drone a couple of hundred feet away, let alone actually even see it.
What about laws against discharging a firearm with city limits and the like, or doesn’t FL have any of those?
Thanks - and you are correct. Sometimes, right in the middle of a sentence, my brain slips into neutral for a moment.
Bullets that go up, come down.
When the “OLDFARTS” mentioned in another post are spraying bullets into the air, they are clearly not thinking about where the bullets will land.
Having been in actual hot wars, and having seen bullets going through roofs and ceilings on their way down, one gets a perspective on this nonsensical “idea”!
Florida is not a safe place for anyone!
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At a couple of hundred feet, unless perfectly still, it would be a challenge to hit one. And the very good shooters that I know that would have a hard time hittting it would never fire a single-projectile firearm into the air. You may damage one at 150’ with a heavy shotgun load but that is a stretch. Again, it’s that fine line between a voyeur and a legit operation. So how to legislate?
Just let them shoot. A reduced population density will solve many of the future problems.
Walmart delivers groceries using drones in my neighborhood. If my neighbor shoots the drone down, as it flys over her house to get to mine, do I still have to pay for the groceries?
Unfortunately, the people doing the shooting won’t be the ones involuntarily given tickets to join the population density reduction plan victims club. Here are some stray bullet data: Stray Bullet Death Statistics (Updated February 2025)
Totally agree with You, Mr. Jason J. Baker.
Nope, darjr. The responsibility for the path of drones, avoiding less than 500’ agl in others properties is the drones owner or responsible for his operation.
The neighbor was charged with what, and by whom? I could see the state cooking up some kind of Peeping Tom charge, but I don’t think the FAA would ignore shooting at an aircraft even if the state did charge something else. They tend to have no sense of humor about stuff like that.
There are many assuming every drone operator follow regulations when it’s obvious illegal drone operators ignore regulations otherwise Florida wouldn’t be passing legislation against drones flying over homes, businesses and within airport property. The majority of pilots exercising their privileges obey all FAA regulations but there are a few that don’t. The same can be said of those flying drones illegally, deliberately bypassing their obligations after acquiring their operator’s license.
On a different note, perhaps confusing those illegal drone flights may occur. Where there’s a will, there’s a way. The military already have defense devices that interfere with drone operation, with pinpoint accuracy. Perhaps a non military version is being studied for bringing illegal drones down.
Fast mover. The “reasonable force” provision initially present in SB 1422 was not included in the final legislation. On April 24, 2025, the Florida Senate set aside SB 1422 in favor of HB 1121, which passed both chambers unanimously. HB 1121 focuses on regulating drone operations and does not authorize homeowners to take action against drones.
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Okay, I improvised, but Florida is very far from the sunniest state, I can assert from personal experience in Florida, Vermont and a mess of other states, gray skies or blue.
Who said anything about rifles? I would hope that would fall outside of the “reasonable” part of this crazy law. Anyway, I think few could hit a drone with a rifle. Where I live, you can’t hunt deer with a rifle. Shotgun or bow.
We got plenty of roofers. 
I’m more concerned about the “drone” they think is at 200 feet turning out to be a cricri at 700 or a bizjet at 1500…
A bullet that misses does come back down, most likely on someone else property, or on or in a person. Don’t be shooting guns randomly in populated areas. You might go to jail for a long time.
Based on the recent “drone” sightings in NJ, I have serious doubts the public can discern the difference between a piston single/helicopter and a drone, especially at night. If this passes, I’d think twice about a scenic night flight in Florida in a Cessna.
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“Shooting at drones is still a federal crime”
Shooting toy airplanes is not a Federal crime, it’s a youtube staple.
Neither guns nor toy planes are nationally registered
Calling kites and toy planes “aircraft” is laughable.
Local laws already prohibit firing guns at physical things in a neighborhood.
Arthur, you are correct. Shooting at drones is already a federal crime, and lumping toy airplanes, kites, and drones all together as “aircraft” was always a little ridiculous. Local laws already cover reckless gunfire in neighborhoods, so there was never a real legal gap that needed filling.
The problem was, the original Senate bill (SB 1422) clumsily tried to bolt on a “reasonable force” provision anyway, basically giving homeowners a green light to start blasting at anything flying over their backyard. It was a reckless idea that invited way more problems than it solved. Luckily, when the House took over, they stripped that nonsense out. HB 1121 focuses strictly on regulating drone operations, not backyard firefights.
Bottom line: the final bill is what it should have been from the start, clear rules for drones, without handing out DIY surface-to-air missile permissions.
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