A two year old boy shot his three year old brother in the butt using daddy’s gun, which was left unlocked, with no safety, in the truck while daddy went into the house to get something. For the second time in a few years, a guy shot a bullet through through the walls separating him and his neighbor, didn’t hit anyone but the neighbor was annoyed and the police seem to think it is the shooter’s right to do this. Some guy who got a new gun for his security job was showing off his gun and killed his friend by shooting in her in the face. Another guy who just got a gun shot his brother dead. A mom gave her teenage son a handgun to play with, and he shot her sister with it. A guy at the shooting range shot himself in the gut wiht his assault rifle. He’ll live, maybe. A cop’s daughter shot herself with the officer’s service weapon, which was left loaded and unlocked on his dresser. The 10 year old girl will live, the cop will not be charged.
All these stories and more can be investigated in more detail here.
But the big story has got to be this one.
The editor of a gun magazine was arrested Wednesday in the shooting death of his friend.
Richard Erick Venola, 53, is charged with second-degree murder after authorities said he shot and killed his friend, James Patrick O’Neill, 39…
Venola is listed as a field editor for “Guns & Ammo” magazine and is said to be passionate about firearms.
… O’Neill was shot once in his chest by a large caliber rifle. His body was found outside the home.
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For more fun, check Mano’s post
http://freethoughtblogs.com/singham/2012/05/07/the-truly-discriminated-people-of-missouri/
Oh come on, he could have just have easily put a kitchen knife or a piece of string through the wall!
As Tom Tomorrow pointed out last year after the Tucson shootings, the debate on gun control is over. The guns won.
One of the things I like about living in CA. Every one of these ‘accidents’ would be charged as a felony, and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
That’s why California is filled with Freaks and Hippies!
And you wonder why I don’t trust anyone with a gun…
I know you hate guns but I have just as many news worthy stories where guns helped save someone or a crime from happening. If you would allow me to post some, here they are:
1. Armed Homeowners Help Nab Serial Armed Robber
http://www.keepandbeararms.com/information/XcIBViewItem.asp?ID=3419
2. Armed robber killed by store owner
http://www.keepandbeararms.com/information/XcIBViewItem.asp?ID=3414
3. Hero teacher back to school after using firearm to capture assailant who shot police officer
http://www.keepandbeararms.com/information/XcIBViewItem.asp?ID=3410
4. Teen kills would-be rapist
http://www.keepandbeararms.com/information/XcIBViewItem.asp?ID=3410
5. Man aids wounded neighbors, shoots attacker
http://www.keepandbeararms.com/information/XcIBViewItem.asp?ID=3256
6. Man holds alleged thief at gunpoint
http://www.keepandbeararms.com/information/XcIBViewItem.asp?ID=3254
Thank you for allowing me to post these stories that without a gun someone would have been injured or killed.
Dano, I don’t hate guns, so don’t say that.
Thanks for the stories. My stories all happened over the last two weeks. When did your stories happen? Looks like they were all in 2002, is that right? Thanks
I did not check dates but can see what I can find. Sorry I just assumed you hated guns with an article like this. Would you prefer no guns or just guns in the hands of law enforcement/armed forces?
Dan-o, I want people to not fire their guns into their neighbor’s houses, or leave unlocked and loaded guns around for toddlers to use to shoot their siblings. Stuff like that.
The story about the editor of Guns and Ammo is in there just because it is ironic.
Makes perfect sense and I agree 100%. Regards
Well here is a thought, let’s make a law where all accidents are illegal. These incidents ‘you have posted are terrible I agree.he parents of the children should be jailed for negligence. But police and milit ary people who have had extensive training on weapons have many of the same accidents. The only way to prevent them is to disarm the world, then make all accidents against the law. If you get to a fender bender jail. If you slip and falll jail . If you accidentally get someone pregnant due to broken condom!, failed birth control, or failed vasectomy jail. That way all those people who have honest to goodness accidents won’t trouble you perfect people.
IraqVet1999, what you can do is have greater responsibility on the manufacturers. Start with a minimum of a federal safety standard to ensure guns can’t be discharged by dropping them, for example, along with things like recall mechanisms to force manufacturers to fix them. You know, the same as exist for, say, cars (an equally dangerous tool used by the general public).
Go read some of the stories. The guy who killed his brother was trying to take the gun apart – removing the slide, which meant you had to pull the trigger. That’s bad design, right there – the only reason to pull the trigger should be to shoot the gun. There’s another story about a dog knocking over a shotgun which then discharged – more bad design; the gun shouldn’t be able to discharge without the trigger being pulled.
If you have a fender bender because the brakes on the car failed due to a manufacturing or design defect, the manufacturer is liable. If you slip on dangerous ground, it’s possible that the owners of the ground are liable. If you get someone pregnant because the condom broke and you can show that the condom was badly made, the manufacturer is liable. Why not apply the same standards and principles to gun manufacturers?
(And yes, I would say that if you left a loaded gun around, without the safety enabled, and a child picked it up and fired the gun, then you should be liable for reckless endangerment at least. Oh, and safety switches on guns should be reasonably child-proof)
Pulled the trigger and shot someone? That’s the manufacturer’s fault how??? It’s called cleaning and making safe. But do some research the military and law enforcement world has many such negligent discarges every day. As to bumping the weapon and it going off manufacturers set the trigger pressure, its not there fault if someone messes with the sensitivity of the trigger.
I ment clearing not cleaning
Ya, see? Mix up clearing and cleaning, and you’ve got an unintended discharge!
Lol good one.
There are a lot of people that are critical and scared of guns. That is because they do not know how to handle or shoot one. Not knowing how to use a gun is like not knowing how to swim because you are scared of the water. But both can save your’s or someone else’s life if you learn how.
Keeping your guns in a secured place with the key & ammunition stored separately in a safe place will definitely deter gun theft and keep them away from small children. This will also limit personal liability from unsecured firearms. Also as an extra precaution, I suggest writing down all serial numbers, model numbers and descriptions of each gun with photos and storing this information separately. This will be very beneficial if, for some reason, they are stolen. It will also make it a lot easier for police to recover the guns and return them to the rightful owner when the thieves are caught or the guns sold to Pawn Shops, etc. This information will also be beneficial in insurance claims of stolen firearm.
I am a gun enthusiast living in CA, I also happen to be a resident alien. As a result I pay careful attention to the firearms laws and I can’t help but be frustrated with them.
I don’t understand why a license is required for a car, which kills someone just as dead as a gun when handled by someone who is careless.
I also wonder why it would be such a big deal to make licenses mandatory for firearms ownership (even just a hunting license would be better than nothing,) and then removing the CA firearms restrictions.
As stated in the laws and acts regulating firearms in CA, our local shooting ranges and gun clubs get federal aid to operate based on statewide active hunting licenses.
If we had more safe shooting zones and more aware gun users along with a more reliable way if determining who gets to own a gun and who does not, I’m sure the number of accidents involving guns would decrease drastically, not to mention helping to remove the stigma surrounding guns/ gun ownership in ca.
Just a thought.