Posted: 5/27/2006 8:00:39 AM EDT
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The other thread on gun safety got me thinking about a stupid act I saw once. One time at a picnic someone bought out a black powder cannon and fired into the woods nearby. The lead ball hit a tree and came back and hit a child in the face hard enough to break the skin and leave a bruise. There were a bunch of dogs and people milling about, most people did not even know the cannon was going to be fired. Everyone was amazed that the "toy cannon" could do that. They said they did this all the time with no ill effect. The fact that the cannon was basically a deadly short barreled firearm had no impression on them. Note that there was a rifle range available about 100 yards away, and virtually every man there was a lifelong shooter. Guess who set up the cannon and fired it? A ten year old boy had gone into his dad's house and got the cannon and powder out of an unlocked closet. Later that day a guy there showed me a new "unloaded" black powder revolver. He pointed the gun at the ten year old boy's head and as a joke said "Execution style killing". Pathetic lack of safety. Fucking stupid assholes. No wonder they have to put a sticker on a blender that says "Don't stick hand into whirling blades" |
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Someone posted a story here a while back that a guy found his roommates pistol, and knew just enough to check the chamber to see if it was loaded. He didn't realize that he was chambering a round when he dropped the slide though, and walked into the living room and shot a girl in the head while playing around. Went to jail for a long time, IIRC. |
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People today are so insulated from anything related to "cause and effect" that they REALLY don't get it. They live in a government mandated "protection zone" where anything and everything that might remotely cause them harm is regulated, modified, redesigned and labeled for idiots. When someone does get injured chances are medical science (or dumb luck) will keep them alive to sue everyone remotely associated with the event, causing another round of regulation, modification, redesign and labeling. Eventually people will die from stubbing their toes and paper cuts at this rate. Technology improves, people devolve. I've been watching this happen for decades and eventually we'll have androids that rival Rommie, transporters and warp drive and 95% of the population will be drooling idiots, functionally illiterate and incapable of doing ANYTHING outside of simple, repetitive tasks. Just look at any Wal-Mart parking lot and ask yourself how many of those people could survive more than a week if the box they call their life was disrupted. As for guns, the vast majority know nothing beyond what they see on TV, which as we all know is a blueprint for killing someone or killing yourself should you ever come in contact with a real, functional firearm. |
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I don't leave my firearms where they can be improperly handled by people. I don't let ANYONE touch my firearms that I am not reasonably sure will exercise proper safety and caution. I don't hang out, encourage, or shoot with people who propigate and practice poor firearms handling. Quite a few people do not make the connection that poor judgement will be a tragedy with firearms. |