The animal rights group S.H.A.R.K claim a hunter shot down the UAV they were using to surveil a pigeon shoot.
The president and CEO of the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) comes out strongly against the idea that we should just shoot at UAVs we don’t want flying overhead:
“To advocate for people to shoot down any object from U.S. airspace is irresponsible, dangerous and unlawful. Unmanned aerial systems are being designed to serve the public good, such as helping search and rescue officers find missing children, monitor weather and wildlife, provide disaster relief and respond to emergencies, as they did in the Fukushima nuclear crisis in Japan last year. The myriad of important uses will be imperiled if they become targets. Meanwhile, the suggestion that Americans take up arms against unmanned aircraft also endangers citizens on the ground.”
“AUVSI welcomes civil discussions about privacy and the proper uses of unmanned aircraft, but it cannot and does not condone violence against technology intended to keep citizens safe while saving taxpayer dollars.”
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Syndicated columnist Charles Krauthammer recently stated that unmanned aircraft should be banned entirely in the United States, and said that “I would predict — I’m not encouraging, but I would predict, the first guy who uses a Second Amendment weapon to bring down a drone that’s hovering over his house is gonna be a folk hero in this country.”
The NBC television show “Harry’s Law” also recently portrayed its main character shooting down a “drone” in just such a situation.