1837

1837 Del. Laws 166, An Act To Prevent the Discharge Of Fire-arms In the Village of Camden, Kent County, And For Other Purposes Therein Mentioned, ch. 123, § 1.

Delaware

. . . if any person or persons shall presume to fire or discharge any gun, ordnance, musket, fowling-piece, fuse or pistol . . . within or on any of the streets, alleys or lanes of the said village of Camden, whereon any buildings are or may be erected, shall be fined or punished as hereinafter mentioned.
Firing Weapons

1802

Alexander Edwards, Ordinances of the City Council of Charleston, in the State of South-Carolina, Passed since the Incorporation of the City, Collected and Revised Pursuant to a Resolution of the Council Page 289, Image 299 (1802) available at The Making of Modern Law: Primary Sources.

South Carolina

[Ordinances of the City of Charleston, An Ordinance for Appointing Commissioners of the Streets, Defining their Powers, and for other Purposes therein Mentioned, § 8. And be it further ordained by the authority aforesaid, That no person or persons, shall fire any squibs, crackers, or other fireworks, except at times of public rejoicing, and at such places as the intendant for the time being may permit, by license under his hand; nor burn any chips, shavings, or other combustible matters, in any of the streets, lanes, wharves, alleys, or open or enclosed lots of the city, nor fire any gun, …
Firing Weapons

1890

1890 Okla. Sess. Laws 480, Crimes And Punishment: Crimes against the Public Peace, ch. 25, art. 39, § 21.

Oklahoma

Every person who willfully discharges any species of firearm, air gun, or other weapon, or throws any other missile in any public place, or in any place where there is any person to be endangered thereby, although no injury to any person shall ensue, is guilty of a misdemeanor.
Firing Weapons

1879

J. M. Falkner, The Code of Ordinances of the City Council of Montgomery, with the Charter Page151, Image 151 (1879) available at The Making of Modern Law: Primary Sources.

Alabama

[Ordinances of the City of Montgomery,] § 449. Any person who fires or discharges, or causes to be fired or discharged, any pistol, gun, cannon, anvil, or anything of like kind or character; or who lets off or discharges any rocket, fire-crackers, squib or other fire-works, without first having obtained permission of the Mayor, who shall designate the place where such firing may be done, must, on conviction, be fined not less than one nor more than one hundred dollars.
Firing Weapons

1869

The Charter and Ordinances of the City of Richmond Page 196-197, Image 196-197 (1869) available at The Making of Modern Law: Primary Sources.

Virginia

[Ordinances of Richmond, Police, § 42. If any person engaged in military exercise shall fire or discharge, in any street or public alley of this city, any cannon, gun, pistol, or any other firearms, except on the fourth of July, the twenty-second of February and the nineteenth day of October, or at military burial or some extraordinary occasion allowed by the Mayor (and by him notified through the newspaper, or by posting handbills or otherwise), or if any person shall, in any street or public alley in said city, play at bandy or throw snowballs, stones or other missiles, or …
Firing Weapons

1865

Charter of the Village of Lansingburgh, and the By-Laws and Ordinances; Revised July 1865 Page 50, Image 51 (1865) available at The Making of Modern Law: Primary Sources.

New York

Ordinances of the Village of Lansinburgh, §5 It shall not be lawful for any person or persons to set fire to, or burn, or cause to be burned, any shavings, leaves, straw, chips, rubbish, barrels, boxes or other combustible materials in any street, or alley, or upon any lot in said village, unless the same be done between the hours of sunrise and ten o’clock in the morning; nor shall any person or persons fire any cannon, gun, pistol or other fire arms, or set fire to, or burn any squib, cracker, rocket or powder (except for the purpose of …
Firing Weapons

1853

Oliver H. Strattan, A Collection of the State and Municipal Laws, in Force, and Applicable to the City of Louisville, Ky. Prepared and Digested, under an Order from the General Council of Said City by Oliver H. Strattan and John M. Vaughan, City Clerks, which Includes the State Constitution and City Charter, with Notes of Reference Page 198, Image 199 (1857) available at The Making of Modern Law: Primary Sources.

Kentucky

[Ordinances of Louisville,] No. 100, An Ordinance to Regulate the Discharge of Guns and Fireworks. Any person who shall discharge a gun, pistol, or other fire-arms, or any person, who shall set off a squib, cracker, or other fire works, in any public place, or send up a paper balloon or sky rocket, or throw a fire ball within the city, shall be fined four dollars.
Firing Weapons

1845

1845 Del. Laws 10, A Supplement To The Act Entitled “An Act To Survey, Lay Out And Regulate the Streets Of Smyrna and for Other Purposes,” ch. 12, § 2.

Delaware

That it shall be the duty of the said commissioners, justice of the peace and constable to suppress, extinguish and prevent all bonfires from being lighted or kept up in any of the streets, lanes or alleys of the said town, and to suppress and prevent the firing of guns, pistols crackers or squibs, or the making or throwing of fire-balls by boys or others within the limits of said town.
Firing Weapons

1817

Ordinances, of the Town of Columbia, (S. C.) Passed Since the Incorporation of Said Town: To Which are Prefixed, the Acts of the General Assembly, for Incorporating the Said Town, and Others in Relation Thereto Page 61-61, Image 61-62 (1823) available at The Making of Modern Law: Primary Sources.

South Carolina

[Ordinances of the Town of Columbia, An Ordinance for Prohibiting the Firing of Guns in the Town of Columbia (1817). Whereas the practice of firing small arms within the town of Columbia is extremely dangerous to the lives; as well as the property of the inhabitants thereof, and ought to be strictly prohibited: Be it ordained by the Intendent and Municipal Wardens of the towns aforesaid, in council assembled, and it is hereby ordained by the authority of the same, That hereafter it shall not be lawful for any person to fire or discharge any gun, pistol or other small …
Firing Weapons

1869

Byron K. Elliott, The Charter and General Ordinances of the City of Indianapolis, Indiana, in Force August 1St, 1869; to Which is Prefixed a Catalogue of the City Officers, from 1839 to 1869, Inclusive Page 291, Image 292 (1869) available at The Making of Modern Law: Primary Sources.

Indiana

[Ordinances of Indianapolis,] Public Health and Comfort, § 9. Whoever shall fire a gun or pistol in said city, shall be fined therefor in any sum not exceeding fifty dollars: Provided, That such penalty for shooting shall not apply to military companies, while performing military duty, or to any police officer or officers while in discharge of any duty in pursuance of any ordinance of said city, or in obedience to any law of the State of Indiana; or to any person who may fire any gun or pistol in or upon his own premises, except where the ball or …
Firing Weapons

1858

Newport (R.I.). Charter of the City of Newport, R.I., And the Special State Laws Relating Thereto, Together With the Ordinances for the Government of the City. Newport, 1858.

Rhode Island

Newport RI 1858Sec. 11. And be it further enacted, That no person whosoever shall fire a gun or other fire-works within one hundred yards of the said powder-house, upon the penalty of two dollars for every such offense, to be recovered by the town treasurer for the use of said town. Sec. 12. And be it further enacted, That no ship or vessel having more than five barrels of gunpowder on board, shall come to anchor in the harbor of Newport, anywhere to the eastward of Goat Island, and lie there more than twenty-four hours, after notice and warning shall …
Firing Weapons

1891

1891 Nev. Stat. 78, An Act to Prevent the Willful Injury to, or Interference with Railroad Property, and to Provide for the Punishment Thereof, ch. 67, § 1.

Nevada

If any person or persons . . . shall discharge any gun, pistol or any other fire arm at any train, car, locomotive or tender . . . or shall aid or abet or procure any of the above mentioned acts to be done or attempted shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof be punished by a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars, or by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding fifty days, or by both such fine and imprisonment for such offense.
Firing Weapons

1823

1823 Ohio Laws 57, Local Acts vol. 22, An Act to Incorporate the Town of Wooster in the County of Wayne, ch. 38, § 10.

Ohio

. . . they shall have power . . . to impose a fine of not more than five dollars for shooting a gun or running a horse, within said town.
Firing Weapons

1833

1833 Miss. Law 231, An Act To Amend An Act Entitled An Act To Incorporate The Town Of Gallatin . . . , ch. 98, § 3.

Mississippi

That every person who shall willfully run any horse or fire any gun or pistol within said corporation, shall for the first offence, pay the sum of five dollars, and for the second offence, shall pay ten dollars, and double that for any other offence, to be recovered before the President of the Selectmen of said town; Provided, That no person shall be liable to the penalties for shooting, when the same may be accidental or necessary.
Firing Weapons

1857

Louis J. Dupree, A Digest of the Ordinances of the City Council of Memphis, from the Year 1826 to 1857 Together with All Acts of the Legislature of Tennessee Which Relate Exclusively to the City of Memphis, with an Appendix Page 161, Image 161 (1857) available at The Making of Modern Law: Primary Sources.

Tennessee

[Ordinances of the City of Memphis, Pistols and Guns, § 1. It shall be unlawful for any person to fire any pistol, gun or other firearm within the limits of this city, unless it be on the occasion of a military parade, and then only by the order of an officer of a military company. Nor shall any person raise a kite or any like paper, or balloon, in the limits of the city. Any person violating any of the terms and provisions of this ordinance shall be fined by the recorder not less than five nor more than fifty …
Firing Weapons

1847

John C. White, Digest of the Laws and Ordinances of the Parish of East Feliciana, Adopted by the Police Jury of the Parish Page 80, Image 82 (1848) available at The Making of Modern Law: Primary Sources.

Louisiana

Ordinances for the Better Regulation of Clinton, Police Jury, September Session, 1847, § 1. Be it Resolved, That shooting of guns, pistols, or any other fire arms within the limits of the town of Clinton, except in extreme cases, such as shooting a mad dog running at large, is expressly forbidden, and whosoever shall be guilty of shooting a gun, pistol or other fire arms within said limits without a good excuse for so doing, which excuse shall be judged of by the magistrate, shall pay a fine of ten dollars, to be recovered before any Justice of the Peace …
Firing Weapons

1869

The Municipal Register Containing the City Charter and Ordinances, Together with the Rules and Orders of the City Council and a List of the past and Present City Officers of the City of Newburyport Page 130, Image 132 (1869) available at The Making of Modern Law: Primary Sources.

Massachusetts

City Ordinances [of Newburyport], § 15. No person shall fire any rocket, squib, cracker, or other thing formed of gunpowder or other explosive substance, in whole or in part; nor make any bonfire of tar barrels or any other substances, nor, except in the performance of some duty authorized by law, discharge any field piece, gun or other firearm in or upon any street or other way, or upon any wharf or landing within the city.
Firing Weapons

1869

General orders of the Board of Supervisors providing regulations for the government of the City and County of San Francisco https://archive.org/details/generalordersofb1869sanf

California

[Discharge of Cannon: Permit to be given by Mayor, and filed in office of Chief of Police. Discharge of Fire Arms prohibited within certain limits.]Sec. 22. No person shall discharge any cannon within that portion of this city and county lying between Larkin and Ninth Streets and the outer line of the streets forming the water-front, except by special permission, in writing, from the Mayor, which permit shall designate the time and particular locality of the firing, and the number of discharges which are authorized. A copy of such permit shall be filed by the person obtaining the same, in …
Firing Weapons

1889

Joseph Lippman, The Revised Ordinances of Salt Lake City, Utah, Embracing All Ordinances of a General Nature in Force December 20, 1892, Together with the Charter of Salt Lake City, the Amendments Thereto, and Territorial Laws of a General Nature Applicable to Salt Lake City, and the Constitution of the United States Page 284, Image 290 (1893) available at The Making of Modern Law: Primary Sources.

Utah

[Ordinances of Salt Lake City,] Misdemeanors, Discharging Air Gun, Flipper, etc., § 18. Any person discharging an air gun, sparrow gun, flipper, or other similar contrivance, within the limits of this city, shall be liable to a fine of not more than twenty-five dollars for every such offense.
Firing Weapons

1632

1632 Va. Acts 198, Acts of September 4th, 1632, Act XLIV available at https://archive.org/details/statutesatlargeb01virg

Virginia

No commander of any plantation, shall either himself or suffer others to spend powder unnecessarily, that is to say in drinking or entertainment. (edited for clarity).
Firing Weapons

1877

George H. Hand, The Revised Codes of the Territory of Dakota, A. D. 1877. Comprising the Codes and General Statutes Passed at the Twelfth Session of the Legislative Assembly, and All other General Laws Remaining in Force Page 798, Image 826 (1877) available at The Making of Modern Law: Primary Sources. (An entry for this law is included for both North and South Dakota because it passed during the Dakota Territory period.)

North Dakota

Penal Code – Discharging Firearms, § 495. Every person who willfully discharges any species of firearms, air-gun or other weapon, or throws any other missile in any public place, or in any place where there is any person to be endangered thereby, although no injury to any person shall ensue, is guilty of a misdemeanor.
Firing Weapons

1774

1774 Pa. Laws 411, An Act To Suppress The Disorderly Practice Of Firing Guns, etc, On The Times Therein Mentioned, § 1

Pennsylvania

That if after the publication of this act any person or persons shall on any thirty-first day of December or first or second day of January in every year, wantonly, and without reasonable occasion, discharge and fire off any hand-gun, pistol or other fire-arms, or shall cast throw or fire any squibs, rockets or other fire-works, within the inhabited parts of this province, to the disturbance of any of his Majesty’s subjects there inhabiting and being, every such person so offending, and being thereof convicted . . . shall for every such offense forfeit . . . ten shillings . …
Firing Weapons

1875

J. Nelson Wisner, Ordinances and By-Laws of the Corporation of Martinsburg: Berkeley Co., West Virginia, Including the Act of Incorporation and All Other Acts of a Special or General Nature Page 25, Image 25 (1875) available at The Making of Modern Law: Primary Sources.

West Virginia

[Ordinances of Martinsburg, An Ordinance to Prevent Certain Improper Practices Therein Specified,] § 3. If any person shall fire or discharge within such parts of the town which are or shall be laid out into lots, or within two hundred yards of said limits, any cannon, gun, pistol or fire-arms, or any cracker, squib, rocket or fire-works, except it be in case of necessity, or in the discharge of some public duty, or at a military parade by order of the officer in command, or with the permission of the Mayor or Council of the town, such person for every …
Firing Weapons

1869

Lewis Mayer, The Baltimore City Code: Comprising the Statutes and Ordinances Relating to the City of Baltimore Page 877, Image 887 (1869) available at The Making of Modern Law: Primary Sources.

Maryland

[Ordinances of Baltimore,] Regulations, § 141. If any person shall fire or discharge any gun, pistol or firearms within the city, unless it be on some occasion of military parade, and then by order of some officer having the command, every such person, for every such offence, shall forfeit and pay a sum not exceeding five dollars; and if any gun, pistol or firearms shall be discharged from on board any vessel within the harbor of Baltimore, the captain of the vessel, as well as the offender, shall be liable to the said penalty.
Firing Weapons

1883

The Penal Code of the State of New York. In Force December 1, 1882, as Amended by Laws of 1882 and 1883 with Notes of Decisions and a Full Index Vol. 6 Page 98, Image 104 (1883) available at The Making of Modern Law: Primary Sources.

New York

Discharging Firearms in Public Places, § 468. A person, who willfully discharges any species of firearms, air-gun, or other weapon, or throws any deadly missile in any public place, or in any place where there is any person to be endangered thereby, although no injury to any person shall ensue, is guilty of a misdemeanor.
Firing Weapons