mec, Sir...
A functional, well-maintained 1911 or 1911A1, is SAFE in Condition 1 carry (cocked and locked). You are correct: that ol' single-action JMB pistol, has ONE EXTRA safety--the grip safety. Don't want to get reprimanded here off the shotgun deal in this thread, but, if a 1911 or 1911A1 has a round in the chamber, with the thumb safety OFF, and the grip safety is not fully depressed, it will not fire. I've tried it on two brands of modern-manufacture 1911A1s, and my USGI Colt 1911 from 1918. Every firearm is potentially dangerous and deadly.
BUT... unlike some folks's opinion of the 1911/A1... read, "inherently unsafe" (since it must be cocked to engage the thumb safety)... I just do NOT buy that. My double-action pistols, chambered, can have the thumb safeties engaged with a lowered hammer; but, if you have the lowered hammer, and kick the thumb safety off, they WILL fire with two different trigger pulls, hammer down or cocked. The 1911 platform, if the individual weapon is in functional and good condition, as all mine are, including the 1918 1911, is no more unsafe than ANY handgun. Even my GP100 revolver is a double-action; you don't have to cock the hammer to fire a round, if you have a round in the top hole of the cylinder.
Unfamilar folks, those who despise or at the other end of the spectrum, just don't like guns, get nervous with a cocked hammer on a gun. They don't understand guns. I concede that there are no other single-action pistols that I know of out there, other than the 1911 platform, any more... but, it's a training issue. Being licensed to carry deadly force in public in my state, I take the responsibility seriously; but, nowadays? I can field strip and reassemble a 1911/A1 with my eyes closed in less than 60 seconds. I love the weapon.
Just like I love my P90 (a little harder, that damned ejector arm!), my GP100, my Taurus 9mm, my Mossberg. I love the safety on a Mossberg: on the reciever, NOT the trigger guard! That time I brandished the ol' 490 .410, that was a defensive advantage.
I NEVER want to pull the trigger on a perp: on the road or in a residence. I will guarantee y'all that that safety is on, regardless of my pistol or shotgun that is brandished, and the hammer stays down on my revolver. But, having been there and done that a few times in my own life, I don't think or believe the Mossberg shotguns, or the 1911/A1s, are any less safe or controllable than any other firearm. In fact, I'm much more comfortable with my 1911s and my scattergun, than my double action pistols and my revolver. I know that ALL mine work 100%. Ol' Charlie Miller made a good point, but, you got to read between his line...
Y'all all take care and be safe. Y'all are a great bunch of folks here.
Mick