Wedding photographer shot dead as couple pose with guns
Guests were horrified when the firearm went off accidentally, killing photographer Calogero Scimeca, a 45-year-old married man with children.
The bullet hit him in the head, killing him instantly, police said.
Hmmm. I think we've violated all Four Rules at once. Gun was loaded. Finger was on trigger. Gun was pointed at something it shouldn't have been. Target was not secure.
1. All guns are always loaded. Period.
2. Keep your damned finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot. Period. Stop.
3. Never point your firearm at anything you are not prepared to shoot. Period. Stop.
4. Be sure of your target and what's beyond it. Stop.
Obey these four rules and there will never be a problem. Start breaking them and there will be problems. Break multiples and there will be tragedies like this one. It's infuriating that this happens; that someone handed a loaded gun to someone otherwise preoccupied; that the person receiving the gun didn't perform even the most basic of checks; that ignorance of firearms is so rampant that no one thought twice about pulling the trigger of a firearm they hadn't checked while it was pointing at someone.
I've made a point to duck when someone swings a muzzle my way. I don't care if the action is open - it's just a good habit to get into. If you train yourself to move out of the way when a muzzle sweeps you, you're a lot more likely to move out of harm's way in that one-in-a-million time when something like this happens. I will most often politely but firmly request that the offender not point their firearm at me (almost always resulting in the bleat of "but it's not loaded!"; sometimes I get the mortified "Sorry!"). If I am outside of the shooting range, I check any firearm I'm about to hand someone it to make sure it's unloaded; I make sure they check it as well - once again, it's just a good habit to get into.
Guns are tools, dangerous tools to be certain but nothing more. They're no more dangerous by themselves than a hammer, a circular saw, or a toaster - they require a human hand to function, and it is that human hand - and the brains (or lack thereof) behind that hand about which we should concern ourselves. Regulating trigger pulls or requiring loaded chamber indicators or magazine disconnects or fifteen independent safeties or biometric lockouts will never replace a rock-solid understanding of the Four Rules of Gun Safety for reducing accidents and tragedies.
I hate having to repeat this, because it almost invariably follows a tragic accidental shooting.
That is all.
Link sent by PISSED - thanks for the safety reminder. Also note a new category called "Safety Nazi" - I hope to not add any more stories like the above to it, but I fear I will...
6 comments:
"It's OK, it's not loaded!"
The most infamous words in negligent firearm death. People seem to think that is an excuse to violate the rules. It is really just a warning to those aroudn that something stoopid is about to happen.
"It's not loaded" does have an equal dumbass excuse: "I didn't see the motorcycle coming down the road at me when I turned into him, Officer, honest, I didn't!" LOAD PIPES SAVE LIVES!
Guns aren't dangerous, people are dangerous.
As we tell the liberals, guns are inanimate objects, it's the people that use them incorrectly that are the problem.
Smart people follow the four rules religiously, dangerous people don't.
I have always told the "Pea-Plinker" double check any weapon handed to her! We get odd looks @ the gun shop when the clerk hands her a gun and she checks to make sure it is unloaded.
Chronos-I'd find a new shop if checking any weapon handed to you isn't considered SOP. The owner of my favorite shop actually commended me on being mindful of safety when I immediately checked the first gun he handed me on my first visit.
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