There seems to be a lot of "when stupid people demonstrate their stupidity with their guns it reflects badly on the rest of us" going on, and I think it's important to point out that this attitude is a symptom of the extraordinarily pervasive "guns are inherently bad" brainwashing that most of society suffers from. When people do stupid things that result in death using pretty much anything else, we do not have this reaction; we just say, "that guy is a dumbass." When idiot parents lock their kids in hot cars when it's 100 degrees out, we don't say "man, this is what gives car drivers with children a bad name." When people get drunk and kill people in a car crash we don't feel like it reflects poorly on the rest of the world's responsible imbibers of inebriatatory beverages.
Some people are stupid, and other people get hurt because of their stupidity; the inanimate object used to perpetrate said stupidity is irrelevant. People hurt and kill themselves and others all the time with things other than guns, so why is it that anytime it happens with guns, we suddenly get all defensive and feel like it's a bad reflection on the rest of us? I think it's because we've all been subtly affected by the "guns are bad and people who have them are evil" brainwashing, and we're constantly trying to prove to ourselves and everyone else that we're not evil, and when this sort of thing happens, undermines our self imaging.
I guess the point I'm trying to make is, this guy is dumb, but he's no more dumb than anyone else who's child dies because his stupidity, and to make a big deal out of the fact that a gun was involved just gives implicit credence to the whole idea that guns are inherently dangerous.
When people do stupid things that result in death using pretty much anything else, we do not have this reaction...
Thank you, you beat me to it. Rep inbound...
No wonder there's so much conflict in the gun world, we are our own worst enemy. It never fails that someone wants to find fault with a manufacturer in lieu of blaming the responsible party. I expect it from the Antis but it's very discouraging to hear that tripe on this forum.
Gaston Glock (in this particular case) was going on the assumption that any operator of a firearm would have basic knowledge of the weapon. If you aren't intelligent enough to clear a firearm before pulling the trigger then MAYBE you shouldn't have a firearm. Any of us can make a mistake so as a default the next logical thing to do is to make certain it's not pointed in an unsafe direction when you pull the trigger. Like Hatin since 87 said, I expect a boom when I pull the trigger and I would be very disappointed if this doesn't happen. If I'm not mistaken that's the basic concept of a firearm. To head down the rabbit hole of "you have to pull the trigger to disassemble" is just attempting to deflect responsibility in a direction other than where it belongs. It's a tragic and horrible mistake and I'll pray for the family but very simply, the blame lies 100% with the person that pulled the trigger. To suggest anything else insults the intelligence of responsible gun owners and gives the Antis "ammunition".
To use this tragedy as a forum for Glock hate or any negativity towards firearms seems very childish to me.
[FONT=&]NRA Life Member / [/FONT]Basic Pistol instructor[FONT=&] / RSO[/FONT][FONT=&]
[/FONT][FONT=&]"Under pressure, you don't rise to the occasion, you sink to the level of your training. That's why we train so hard" [/FONT][FONT=&]
[/FONT][FONT=&]Unnamed Navy Seal[/FONT][FONT=&]
[/FONT][FONT=&]“Ego is the reason many men do not shoot competition. They don't want to suck in public” [/FONT][FONT=&]
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[/FONT][FONT=&]Aron Bright[/FONT]
I agree to a point, but part of it is that we know that the anti-gun people WILL use that logic against us and I think that's why we as a group (gun owners) tend to get defensive about it. It's not that we've been brainwashed, it's that we know they have. Just read the comments on any news story like this. You hear a lot of "Yep, there's another 'responsible' gun owner." (along with eye roll emojis) We know better, but people that are predisposed to hate guns don't.
. The proper response is to attack the invalid premise, which in this case is the idea that if guns didn't exist, stupid people wouldn't hurt their children, which is demonstrably false.
Since guns account for a very small number of child injuries/deaths, in order for this to be the top issue, eliminating it must result in a statistically large decrease in incidences, which necessitates that pretty much every other possible way in which a child can be hurt through parental stupidity is ignored.
I will never understand how someone can back up a vehicle without looking behind them. Or clean a gun without even bothering to unload it first. In the future this era will be known as The Stupid Age.
A magazine disconnect would save more lives/injuries than any other bit of existing technology on a handgun. But few people want them, and the reasoning against them isn't wrong.
I don't understand how this happens. I check my gun so many times to make sure its clear before pulling the trigger. visual and physical inspection.
That's all well and good, but pales in importance to keeping it pointed in a safe direction above all else.
These tragedies simply do not occur when guns are discharged (negligently or intentionally) in a safe direction.
6 year old killed while father is cleaning his gun. This is why people think we're all a bunch of reckless idiots.
https://www.wishtv.com/news/indiana...ental-shooting-in-southern-indiana/1302203924
That's all well and good, but pales in importance to keeping it pointed in a safe direction above all else.
These tragedies simply do not occur when guns are discharged (negligently or intentionally) in a safe direction.
There was a similar incident very locally to my town. Some idiot liked to point a real handgun at his 2 year old son and pretend to shoot him. One time the gun was actually loaded and he shot the 2 year old in the chest, killing the poor child. Stupidity like this is why gun owners get a bad name, and honestly the justice system has failed because the guy only got a 3 year manslaughter conviction based on accidental discharge of the handgun.
That was in no way an accident.