Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Target Practice in Michigan

Ohh Shoot reports.

A 19-year-old Michigan teen was target practicing with two of his friends near his home. One of the teens dropped a gun and the gun discharged, hitting the victim in the lower back. The teen is expected to recover from his injuries.

Now, wait a minute, didn't a bunch of pro-gun folks tell me guns don't fire when dropped unless they're old or defective? Why do we keep seeing these cases then?

Are 19-year-olds in Michigan allowed to have guns? Are they allowed to shoot them at targets?

What's your opinion? Should kids like this have guns? Should kids like this be able go have guns in the future given their irresponsible behavior?

Please leave a comment.

8 comments:

  1. "Now, wait a minute, didn't a bunch of pro-gun folks tell me guns don't fire when dropped unless they're old or defective?"

    Of course we don't know what kind of gun it was, what or how it struck the ground or if someone instinctively tried to catch it. And maybe it was an old gun with a defective design or worn parts.

    "Are 19-year-olds in Michigan allowed to have guns?"

    Yes.

    "Are they allowed to shoot them at targets?"

    That's what I would prefer they shoot them at.

    "What's your opinion? Should kids like this have guns? Should kids like this be able go have guns in the future given their irresponsible behavior?"

    Most people are in favor of 19 year olds possessing guns, especially if they are in the military or possess a magic talisman that suddenly make them better gun handlers if they wear a uniform.

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  2. Now, wait a minute, didn't a bunch of pro-gun folks tell me guns don't fire when dropped unless they're old or defective? Why do we keep seeing these cases then?

    A quick search of news stories reveals conflicting reports. Two other news outlets are reporting that the boy tripped over a log while holding the gun with the safety off (and likely finger on the trigger). That is a dangerous practice. The gun safety course I took repeatedly warned against doing this. Is this yet another case where gun safety education may have helped prevent an accident? It appears so.

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  3. No doubt this 19 year old man will be counted as a "child" when the gun controllers get on their "For the Children®" bandwagon.

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  4. Gunloons will often say that guns cannot possibly discharge when dropped. But one must remember gunloons view guns as religious artifacts that never, never, ever can be misused or mishandled.

    --JadeGold

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  5. Gunloons will often say that guns cannot possibly discharge when dropped.

    Some guns can discharge when dropped, but most modern ones will not. However, that does not have much bearing on this as more recent news reports are no longer reporting this event as a "dropped gun". But then those pesky facts don't have much bearing on you, do they?

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  6. Forget about whether the gun was dropped or not. Perhaps the more serious offense was target practicing near their home.

    One strike you're out, is what I say. You wouldn't really want a kid like that growing up and becoming the gun owner next door, would you?

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  7. One strike you're out, is what I say. You wouldn't really want a kid like that growing up and becoming the gun owner next door, would you?

    Accidents happen. Would you also agree to the same set of rules if we replace gun with car in the above sentence? There are afterall, far far more deadly accidents involving teenagers and cars.

    Also, I notice you keep dodging the issue of safety education. Again, safety education in schools would have likely prevented this from happening at all. Maybe you are dodging the issue because you feel personally responsible? You should.

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  8. RuffRidr, I don't know why you insist on making the car comparison, but in this case it doesn't support your argument. We do have sanctions like losing one's license for serious offenses with the car. Perhaps they should be stricter, but the point is, we're talking about guns here.

    Go to a car blog if you want to talk about cars and keep comparing them to guns, see if that works.

    About dodging the subject of teaching gun safety in schools, I've done no such thing. We've had that discussion a few times around here, I think since you've been coming around - I'm not sure about that though.

    I'm opposed because no matter how carefully you do it, the message is transmitted that owning guns is normal and good, which I don't believe.

    I hope that's straight up enough for you, not "dodging the subject" or anything.

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