I spent nine years as a police officer in Illinois and here is what I learned about indoor firing ranges. They can and usually do give you lung cancer after prolonged use. And, good luck getting the Environmental Protection Agency to sign off on an indoor range. They are, in fact, being closed by the EPA all across the country.

More importantly, is there no grandfathering clause in the state law? Did the city (Cedar Rapids) range open before or after the neighbors arrived? And why can’t we buy the neighbors some Bose noise-suppression devices along with a shooting schedule? It would be cheaper in the long run than having to move the range.

Plus, once you move the range, at a cost of millions, you will have to comply with the EPA requirements to decontaminate the old range at a cost of millions. Buy ’em the earphones.

Allan Richard Hach

Cedar Rapids