Legal Protection For Shooting Sports

Firearms are as “Idaho” as fresh air and wildlife. Shooting firearms or simply collecting them is a way of life, and it is how many Idaho families teach their children values and responsibility. Teaching a child firearm safety, sighting in a rifle before hunting season, letting friends hunt on your property, or maintaining a long-established private range are traditions passed down with the family ranch or farm. Similarly, a family’s ranch rifle or service pistol is a legacy preciously handed down through the generations. And while firearms demand respect, discipline, and accountability, unlike states that approach shooting sports with suspicion or hostility, Idaho has chosen a path grounded in common sense. This path protects those who engage in shooting activities responsibly. As a result, Idaho provides some of the strongest liability protections in the country for shooting sports.

At the center of this legal framework is the Sport Shooting Activities Immunity Act. Together with Idaho’s recreational use laws and protections for government operated ranges, it forms a multi-layered system designed to keep shooting sports viable in a changing national political climate. The law does not excuse gross negligence, intentional misconduct, hidden dangers, or unsafe equipment.

The core protection provided by the Sport Shooting Activities Immunity Act is straightforward. Shooting range operators, sponsors, officials, and instructors are not liable for injuries or death sustained by people engaged in shooting activities.

The Idaho Sport Shooting Activities Immunity Act can prevent even spectators from filing a lawsuit. The law protects range operators from lawsuits filed by people entering or exiting a range, preparing to shoot, waiting to shoot, assisting another shooter, receiving instruction, spectating, or otherwise being present on the range.

This broad definition matters, because many firearm injuries occur from other shooters. In other words, you may be safe at the range, but someone else is not. This is like defensive driving, in that the mere act of going on the road is inherently dangerous, not because you are recklessly driving, but because someone else may be driving in an unsafe manner.

This protective law also has important exceptions. Gross negligence, willful or wanton disregard for safety, and intentional misconduct are not protected. So, for example, a failure to use ordinary care in handling firearms or equipment or providing firearms or gear that are unsafe or improperly maintained will remove protection and open the door for a spectator or other person engaged in the shooting activity to file a lawsuit against the people responsible for an injury.

For example, if a firearms instructor knowingly provides a malfunctioning firearm to a student, or ignores basic safety rules by pointing a firearm in an unsafe direction, or allows reckless behavior (such as someone disobeying the range rules of not firing when someone is down range) to continue unchecked, the law may not protect the instructor or range operator. The law does not protect people who know, or should know, of a danger and purposefully disregard that danger.

The Sport Shooting Activities Immunity Act also does not protect manufacturers from lawsuits over defective firearms or ammunition. It also does not change the laws that apply when a government agency is negligent or when an employee is injured on the job. Those situations are covered by other laws.

Shooting on private property outside of organized ranges also presents a different liability picture. Idaho’s protective law does not eliminate all liability. You cannot shoot whenever and however you want, even on your own property. Some people are ignorant, and some are willful, in their dangerous mishandling and intentional misuse of firearms.

This type of irresponsible behavior affects all of us. Too often, someone’s unsafe practice causes a publicized injury (such as the round that went through a vehicle on Interstate 84 last summer, grazing a toddler in the backseat of the car!), and this publicity can result in a push for gun control. In the Elmore County I-84 incident, news releases indicate that following an investigation, the Elmore County Sheriff’s Office reportedly determined that a recreational target shooter in the surrounding area was responsible. Sheriff Mike Hollinshead publicly reminded gun enthusiasts and recreational shooters to “always shoot in a safe direction and know your backdrop” to prevent such negligent accidents. Most shooters follow this advice without question. The few who do not can cause problems for all of us.

The lesson here is that the unscrupulous and unsafe behavior of people is often what causes the legislature to consider that a law needs to be passed to protect the public from the people who refuse to use common sense. If we want to continue to enjoy the freedom we have in Idaho, it is important to be knowledgeable and safe.

When I consider my client’s liability for holding a shooting event, allowing others to shoot on a private range, or providing firearms instruction to a class, I advise strong written warnings, agreement to written rules, and a questionnaire for each participant to complete. The reason is that if there ever were a lawsuit filed against my client, I want my client to have made an active effort to ensure everyone is kept safe. Relying on Idaho’s immunity statute alone is not a best practice.

In sum, Idaho’s shooting-sports immunity laws reflect a deliberate choice to protect a life that values safety, discipline, and personal responsibility, while refusing to excuse reckless or dangerous conduct. When range operators, instructors, and landowners act thoughtfully, maintain equipment, post warnings, enforce safety rules, and address hazards, the law provides strong protection against lawsuits.

These protective laws help ensure that Idaho’s shooting traditions can continue to be passed down without infringement on our Second Amendment rights. Happy shooting.