I realize the pro-gun crowd will relegate all the people in this story to the "other side" of the law-abiding fence, but I don't know if that's fair. Let's consider that the young fireman might have owned the gun legally and did what is done every single day, all over the country, which is remove the magazine and leave a round in the chamber.
A north Florida woman has pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the shooting death of a Jacksonville firefighter.Fisthnise Saint Breux entered her plea Thursday.
Authorities say the 18-year-old was riding with 21-year-old Emanuel Porter II and two other people when they stopped at a gas station in December. When Porter got out the car, he reportedly pulled out a gun, removed the magazine and put the gun and the magazine on the front seat.
Police say Saint Breux picked up the gun, and Porter told her to put it down. Saint Breux pointed the gun at Porter's head and said she wasn't going to shoot him. The gun fired and hit Porter in the head, but Saint Breux later said she didn't remember pulling the trigger.
Saint Breux faces up to 30 years in prison when she is sentenced next month.
Then let's say the girlfriend, or whoever she was did what is done every single day all over the country and pointed the gun at someone not intending to shoot but just fooling around.
Disaster followed. You see, here's the trick. Disaster doesn't follow every single one of these scenarios, but in order for the worst thing to happen, you need some combination of these risky behaviours. Yet, the gun folks keep telling us about the 4 Rules and how gun owners are more responsible than other folks because of the tremendous importance of exercising their rights, and blah, blah, blah.
I say gun rights advocates ought to spend their time and effort in policing their own, in educating their own. It is from among their own that these problems arise. All we hear in response is some form of writing off the offenders as being from the "other side."
What's your opinion? Do you think the vast majority of gun owners is responsible and careful and well trained and intelligent enough to safely manage guns? I don't. This case in Florida, although just one story, is an example of your typical gun owners. The gun bloggers who continually claim to be so responsible, which I believe is the truth, are the exception to the rule, not the rule.
Please leave a comment.
What's your opinion? Do you think the vast majority of gun owners is responsible and careful and well trained and intelligent enough to safely manage guns? I don't. This case in Florida, although just one story, is an example of your typical gun owners.
ReplyDeleteSince there are 80 million gun owners in this country and these incidents are few and far between then I would say, yes, most gun owners are responsible.
> ...the gun folks keep telling us about the 4 Rules...
ReplyDelete> I say gun rights advocates ought to spend their time and effort in policing their own, in educating their own.
You mean we're not? What do you think the 4 rules are? How many of them did the girlfriend break? How many would she have had to follow for this not to happen?
MikeB, we've been over this before. Assume ONLY 80 million gun owners in the country, and assume a worst case scenario of 30,000 firearms deaths each year (even though the number hovers around there, year to year, it also include people who intentionally killed themselves, which would not part of this discussion). We'll even add in an additional 30,000 injured each year, although I don't have the actual numbers in front of me.
ReplyDeleteThat would make 60,000 incidents involving firearms each year that caused injury or death, out of 80 million gun owners, which equals .00075 %. That means, 99.99925% of gun owners did not make the news, did not use their firearm in a negligent manner that caused injury or death.
Yet, you say that the behavior exhibited by the girl in the story (or her firefighter boyfriend) is "typical."
And you accuse the pro-gun side of exaggeration?!
Also, if the girl had been taught proper and safe gun handling, this incident would not have happened, unless she meant it too. As it appears, it was a needless tragedy, but the gun was not at fault, not is it because there was a gun there.
It is because there is no state mandated course for safe handling of firearms.
If you want to push an agenda, most of us would back you up on that one.
If you point a gun at someones head and pull the trigger it's not the guns fault, it's yours.
ReplyDeleteIf we want to use MikeB's "shared responsibility" idea then we can blame him and his ilk for this death, since they actively spread lies, promote ignorance of firearms, and oppose firearms education at every opportunity.
I don't oppose firearms education. I say let's educate people to not want firearms. Most of the folks who own them don't need them, and the ones who do, depending on how you define "need," probably never will actually use them.
ReplyDelete"I say let's educate people to not want firearms."
ReplyDeleteAnd we can educate them not to want sex, or to eat fast food, or drive fast cars.
Your world is a delusion. I'm glad I don't live in it.