this post was submitted on 03 Jul 2024
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Weird News - Things that make you go 'hmmm'

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[–] [email protected] 28 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (3 children)

You don’t shoot at things in public, you don’t shoot into the air near populated/occupied areas, and you don’t shoot at things that don’t belong to you or you aren’t licensed to shoot at. Clearly the thing wasn’t anywhere near his property, so he’ll probably get off light considering how reckless and irresponsible this was.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago

You do if you're alpha as fuck and never miss

/s

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Shooting at a drone has the same classification as shooting at a passenger plane. He's been charged with a felony, up to 20 years in prison. As it should be. We don't need fucking idiots shooting into the sky in residential areas, regardless of what they think they're shooting at.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 months ago (2 children)

You think someone shooting a drone -- a thing that by definition doesn't have any people in it -- should have the same law and sentencing applied as shooting a plane full of people? That seems pretty different to me.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 months ago (2 children)

You think a 54 lb drone crashing from the sky isn't potentially deadly to people?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 months ago

Or bullets falling from the sky.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Oh absolutely it can be. I think most people shooting at a drone aren't intending to hurt anyone, and the possibility of anyone being seriously hurt is largely dependent on how populated the area is if the drone crashes.

Shooting at an occupied aircraft though? The likelihood that someone could be killed goes way up, right? The intent has probably also changed: for a drone it's property destruction, for occupied aircraft it's most likely murder.

Some people believe that intent doesn't matter and that it's the results of the crime that matter. I don't subscribe to that reasoning because then the sentencing of a crime focuses on punishment instead of rehabilitation, and I think intent should have influence on if and how we rehabilitate people, but that's getting into a whole different discussion.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

I'm not familiar with drone laws in the US, but in Canada (and from what I'm understanding from the article and other people's comments) drones are regulated by the federal government and also classify drones in the same way as airplanes. To be able to be a certified drone pilot you also need to know a lot about piloting an aircraft and we get some training in that regard to be able to be certified to fly drones. How we are supposed to fly a drone is similar to flying a plane in some respects, and we need to know how planes with people in them stay in the air. Don't get me wrong, we are not "real pilots" in any way, shape, or form, but we're flying in the same airspace as real planes full of real people. If we fuck up a flight - there can be very serious consequences for a drone pilot. Revoking our pilot certification, hefty fines, and even jail time.

On the surface of things, it might just look like property damage of a drone, but, as people have said elsewhere, we can't have people shooting drones out if the air when they feel like it - this could set a dangerous precedent where simple "property damage" of a drone could cause harm or even kill someone, or many people.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago

Yup. Because whether there are people or not, I don't think, is actually relevant to the crime being committed.

I also think attempted murder, and successful murder should have the same sentence. Whether it was successful shouldn't matter for the punishment. They shouldn't get off with a lighter sentence just because they did a shit job, or because the person was too tough to die.

[–] [email protected] 22 points 5 months ago (2 children)

You sure about that "getting off light" part? The article says he was charged with a felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

[–] [email protected] 24 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

Yep, according to the article shooting the drone carries the same sentencing as shooting at a commercial airliner 👀 they are taking that shit very seriously

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago (1 children)

I wonder how that works in Deer Trail Colorado where they legalized drone hunting?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago

If you mean "hunting and downing drones" then it doesn't matter. Federal law should trump county law.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

I mean, we’re talking about Florida.

But given that fact, it’s probably more dependent on whether it was a white or black drone.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago

No, it's an FAA -- i.e. federal -- thing.