In the evolving legal landscape of Second Amendment rights, the case of Barris v. Stroud Township[1] emerges as a significant judicial examination of the balance between individual gun rights and local government regulations.
Located in Monroe County, Pennsylvania, Stroud Township is subdivided into more than a dozen zoning and overlay districts.[2] In 2009, Jonathan Barris bought a 4.66-acre property in Stroud Township’s residential district. Barris’ property is adjoined by woods and a water feature to the north and by a commercial shopping center 400 feet to the south.[3] Barris built a personal outdoor shooting range on his property, and the neighbors made multiple complaints to the police about gunfire coming from Barris’ property.[4]
On December 6, 2011, Stroud Township’s three-member Board of Supervisors enacted Ordinance No. 9-2011 (Discharge Ordinance),[5] which prohibited the discharging of firearms within the township. There were six exceptions included in the Ordinance, one of which was a shooting range exception. To qualify for the shooting range exception, a person needed to meet the zoning requirements of Ordinances 27-402 and 27-503 (Zoning Ordinances).[6]