Police warn Bostonians: No, you can't shoot a drone out of the sky

I don't see a problem.

According to the FAA, drones are aircraft, and

the FAA in response to my questioning confirmed that shooting down a drone is a federal crime and cited 18 USC 32. That statute makes it a felony to damage or destroy an aircraft.

So, no shooting, with guns, pellet guns, slingshots, garden hoses, frisbees, or anything else.

My suggestion is to enlist the local hawk population to police the skies. The Brits are apparently training eagles for the effort.

Not a firearm. But...not to be discharged across a public way.

Got to be legal. Might even work.

The key word here is "street." You can do all these things in your back yard (and some of them in the park) if you wish. If the drone is in your back yard, have at it - as long as no projectiles fall outside your yard, or go over or into a street, you're good.

Now, an interesting question is whether a drone can be considered a missile. It certainly would resemble a missile if its communications were to be interrupted and it were to fall from the sky. If a drone can be considered a missile, then operating drones across a city street would be illegal.

Wait...

snow balls

Snowball fights are illegal on Boston city streets!?

but what if you do it somewhere other than in the middle of a street?

To spend five years in prison and be labeled as a sex offender for life. Any time you fly your drone near residences, this is what you are risking.

Whoever willfully photographs, videotapes or electronically surveils, with the intent to secretly conduct or hide such activity, the sexual or other intimate parts of a child under the age of 18 under or around the child's clothing to view or attempt to view the child's sexual or other intimate parts when a reasonable person would believe that the person's sexual or other intimate parts would not be visible to the public shall be punished by imprisonment in the house of correction for not more than 21/2 years, by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than 5 years, or by a fine of not more than $10,000, or by both such fine and imprisonment.

This from MA Chapter 272, section 105.

Anybody bathing a child in a bathtub has a reasonable expectation their private parts would not be visible to the public. Anybody flying a video drone within eyeshot of a bathroom window is violating this privacy.

So I'm going to say, folks, if a drone is flying near your windows, you taking it down will not be the biggest legal problem anyone faces that day. It will look like a minor issue after you call the police and explain that it was looking in on your naked children. When the owner comes looking, it's hi ho and away he goes.

For hobbyists, I'll say: keep it to the park. If you're hovering around someone else's back yard, you could be facing some very hard time.