William Merideth had just finished grilling dinner for his family when he saw a drone hovering over his land. So he did what he said any Kentuckian might do — he grabbed his Benelli M1 Super 90 shotgun, took aim and unleashed three rounds of birdshot.

"The only people I've heard anything negative from are liberals that don't want us having guns and people who own drones," said the truck company owner, now a self-described "drone slayer." Downing the quadcopter, which had a camera, was a way to assert his right to privacy and property, he said.

The drone was owned by John Boggs, a hobbyist, who told authorities he was trying to take pictures of the scenery. He argues in a lawsuit filed this month in U.S. District Court in Louisville that Merideth did not have the right to shoot the craft down because the government controls every inch of airspace in America.

For decades, the issue of who controls the nation's air didn't matter much to everyday Americans. Planes, after all, typically must stay hundreds of feet above ground while in the air.

But drones that can take off or land almost anywhere -- and the tech companies who dream of using them to deliver goods to your front porch -- are igniting a debate over who exactly owns the air just above ordinary homes and lawns.