news for today lol

FYI technically no local jurisdiction can ban any legal aircraft flying within the airspace controlled by the FAA. The ONLY reason these jurisdictions are getting away with it right now is no one has stepped up to legally challenge these ordinances in a Federal court. Once they are challenged they will go away as quickly as they have appeared over the past couple of years.
 
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FYI technically no local jurisdiction can ban any legal aircraft flying within the airspace controlled by the FAA. The ONLY reason these jurisdictions are getting away with it right now is no one has stepped up to legally challenge these ordinances in a Federal court. Once they are challenged they will go away as quickly as they have appeared over the past couple of years.
Agreed..City/state ordinances can only control where you can take off or land. Once you are in the air, you re under FAA's authority only.
From the Drone Law Journal:

State and local government drone law.

State and local governments have passed legislation that purports to regulate drone flight, but if challenged in court, any such laws would be considered preempted by the federal government's intent to "occupy the field," and therefore be invalid. By federal statute, "[t]he United States Government has exclusive sovereignty of airspace of the United States" (49 U.S. Code § 40103(a)(1)). The passage of the FMRA confirms the federal government's intent to continue to "occupy the field" of flight, thereby invalidating (through preemption) any state or local laws that purport to regulate it.

State and local governments may, however, regulate two things related to flight:

  • They may regulate their own agencies' drone flight operations; and
  • They may regulate the locations on the ground from which drones may be launched, landed or operated.
That's it. State and local governments cannot regulate drones in any other manner. They can of course use laws of general applicability (such as voyeurism, reckless endangerment, nuisance, etc.) to prohibit certainacts, which would apply to a drone pilot, if a drone happened to be theobject used to perform the prohibited act. They could also pass unnecessary and duplicative criminal statutes specific to drones, but they'd be essentially meaningless since existing criminal statutes would already cover those crimes regardless of whether they were committed with a drone.
 
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Jubair that is my understanding of applicable law as well. Certainly local jurisdictions should be allowed to apply common sense laws of general applicability where public safety and reckless endangerment are involved but a general ban based solely on public fear serve no real purpose. As you stated criminal statues already would apply to any criminal activity involving the use of a drone.
 
FYI technically no local jurisdiction can ban any legal aircraft flying within the airspace controlled by the FAA. The ONLY reason these jurisdictions are getting away with it right now is no one has stepped up to legally challenge these ordinances in a Federal court. Once they are challenged they will go away as quickly as they have appeared over the past couple of years.
Jubair that is my understanding of applicable law as well. Certainly local jurisdictions should be allowed to apply common sense laws of general applicability where public safety and reckless endangerment are involved but a general ban based solely on public fear serve no real purpose. As you stated criminal statues already would apply to any criminal activity involving the use of a drone.
Yes, it's typical of state/local legislators writing 'knee jerk' laws to make it look like they are 'doing something' as people with little to no knowledge of this industry run screaming from over-hyped media reports and demand action. Another recent example is the whole overblown hype the media is creating in regards to police shootings. But I am going to restrain myself on that one.
 
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Yes, it's typical of state/local legislators writing 'knee jerk' laws to make it look like they are 'doing something' as people with little to no knowledge of this industry run screaming from over-hyped media reports and demand action. Another recent example is the whole overblown hype the media is creating in regards to police shootings. But I am going to restrain myself on that one.
Good lord here in cincy I know all too well about the police shootings ordeal were dead center of that debate right now.
 

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