The loudest neighbor in our ward is the Ferry Brook Gun Range, also known as the "Cheshire County Shooting Sports Education Foundation."
If that name sounds euphemistic to you, its because it is. This gun range would very much love to be seen as charitable and educational organization, so it can get an exemption that will allow it to skip out on paying $20,000 a year in property taxes on their land and buildings.
According to the Sentinel, the "non-profit" gun range has recently been appealing the City of Keene's rejection of their argument that shooting guns is a sufficiently charitable endeavor as to excuse them from having to pay taxes like the rest of us chumps.
The gun range was denied this request, and a previous appeal, back in 2021. Since then, they have changed their bylaws to sound more charityish. And educational.
What kind of educational exactly? More than just target practice for home-schoolers, it seems. Perhaps you will recall last year when this gun range was offering a build your own AR-15 clinic?
Right. Because what our state, oozing with nutball secessionists, really needs right now is more people who've been educated on how to build AR-15s in their basement. Surely this is an endeavor worthy of a tax break.
Lets be clear: the culture of gun violence promoted by establishments like the Cheshire County Shooting Sports Education Foundation is a threat to all living people. In 2021 there were 48,830 gun deaths in the United States, and I am entirely out of good will to extend to the personal firearms industry that has lead us down that path.
But, strictly on the property tax issue: I really think gun ranges should have to pay higher property taxes than the rest of us, on account of the massive noise problem they create.
That noise doesn't just scare away all of natures critters, it also has the effect of reducing property values in the neighborhood - and hence the amount of taxes collected on those properties. I don't think its unreasonable to say that the gun range should be on the hook for the additional taxes that would have otherwise been collected on those properties if being near the range hadn't damaged their value.
But no, these cheapskates want to burden our community without chipping in to cover the cost.
And they want to call it charity.