Gun-rights folks are always crying that the media is liberal and against them. But, they don't say anything when, in story after story, the reporters describe things like this, "the Sig Sauer 9-mm. pistol went off."As one of the cops struggled with Pearson — who is homeless and has an extensive rap sheet that includes busts for assault and weapons possession — the second cop went to holster his service weapon to help, police said.But the Sig Sauer 9-mm. pistol went off, firing one round into Pearson’s right calf, cops and witnesses said.“It happened like an accident, he tried to put the gun back and bang — it went off,” one witness said.“I thought my finger was off the trigger,” the cop allegedly said after the accidental discharge.
They don't demand more accurate reporting, they don't point out that the gun is an inanimate object and not capable of an action like "going off."
And, did you notice how infrequently the word "negligence" is used in these daily reports? Practically never. The biased and dishonest gun-rights fanatics love that one. It changes the whole thing from what it really is, an act of negligence, into "just an accident."
The cop in today's story should be riding a desk from now on and the most dangerous piece of equipment he should ever handle again is a stapler. The one strike you're out rule demands it.
What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.
1. You're borrowing Dog Gone's phrasing in that line about the stapler.
ReplyDelete2. Yes, we do criticize the news media for exactly the sort of reporting that you describe here. But as I've told you before, journalists have to avoid getting sued for making false statements. "Accident" is safer than "negligent."
3. Given what I know about Sig Sauers issued to the police, I can say that unless this model was a double-action/single-action and the hammer was cocked, the cop had to squeeze the trigger.
4. That "one strike" thing is yours only. It's not a rule, and no one else is listening.
"The biased and dishonest gun-rights fanatics love that one. It changes the whole thing from what it really is, an act of negligence, into "just an accident.""
ReplyDeleteWow Mike - you could not be more wrong on this one. But I suppose that is because you don't actually ever hang out with gun-nuts - you prefer to form your slanderous opinions about them from a distance.
I cannot think of a single topic (not even clips vs magazine) that I regularly and consistently see corrected on gun forums as I see regarding this issue. Gun nuts have zero tolerance for labeling a negligent discharge as an accidental one. But as you are too sure of yourself to bother to check, let me give you a few examples:
http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=326507
http://forums.gunboards.com/showthread.php?207875-Accidental-or-Negligent-Discharge
http://www.xdtalk.com/forums/ccw-talk/194829-florida-negligent-discharge.html
http://vuurwapenblog.com/2010/06/01/negligent-discharges-vs-accidental-discharges/
http://www.usacarry.com/forums/concealed-carry-discussion/7974-accidental-discharge-question.html
I could keep going all day.
Bottom line: defective gun = accidental / just about everything else = negligent. True gun nuts preach this every chance they get … even when the media screws it up.
You're right. Correction:
DeleteSOME of the biased and dishonest gun-rights fanatics love that one.