Rule #1. All guns are always loaded.
This was never a rule in safe gun handling until recent years but, it is a morph of the true rule to treat all guns as if they were loaded. It is a subtle difference but is certainly a difference. I wonder when the rule morphed into this rather stupid saying. Of course even the saying treat all guns as if they are loaded is an abbreviation of the actual intent and of the original rule which was in essence: when you first handle a firearm treat it as if it was loaded, inspect it to see if it is loaded, if necessary unload it. If every gun were loaded, no one would ever work on a firearm, no one would ever place a cleaning rod through a barrel, no one would ever inspect a barrel for fouling and so on. No not all guns are loaded and all guns are not even treated as if they are loaded every moment that you handle them.
Now do not get me wrong; I do believe in treating any gun as if it were loaded at least until I give them a thorough inspection twice. Even then, that other rule comes into play, you know the one: I point the firearm in a safe direction at all times. (Yes that is the rule, the rule is not to 'never point a firearm at anything you do not intend or are not willing to destroy' - as some would have us believe - in that case I would never cross my legs when it is holstered on my hip, lol). You can even point it at someone and in essence remain safe. You see, if I wind up pointing it at a bad guy who is about to inflict serious bodily harm or death upon me or another innocent, then it is actually pointed in a safe direction - go figure it yourself. At all other times I keep a FIREARM pointed in a safe direction. If I disassemble it for cleaning I can point parts of it at me all I want while cleaning or inspecting it. If I remove the ammo, open the action, keep my finger off the trigger, and then shine a bore light up the breech and then look down the muzzle the firearm is still pointed in a safe direction. You may wonder, why is that? It is because I have taken the precautions necessary to perform a barrel inspection on the firearm. So again the so called GOLDEN rules of firearms safety are not hard and fast as some seem to hold them.
Those rules, the long standing ones and not the more modern aberrations of the real ones, were meant as a guideline on how to responsibly handle firearms. To unwaveringly hold to a transformation of an already abbreviated rule is kind of preposterous - it is no longer following the rule by simple definition of what constitutes a rule. You or someone else has changed it - and now you expect everyone to follow it because you think it is better or, because you think it to be cool. There is an old saying, that in essence says: If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
As for someone pointing a gun at me in a gun store, yeah it gets me pretty upset too. It has happened to me at guns stores, at gun shows, a gun exhibitions (real shows with no sales), at public ranges, and during firearms classes and qualifications. I do not like it one bit when someone else is holding a gun and pointing it at me, gets me quite nervous. Now that I have said that, I have never physically assaulted anyone at a gun store who pointed a weapon at me when I was fairly certain that the weapon had been inspected by the counter clerk and just handed to the customer. I have pushed muzzles away from my direction and, I have verbally assaulted a few real morons or; maybe that should read: I have reprimanded a few people who were ignorant of proper firearms etiquette. I think though that had someone pulled a gun off of their hip and immediately pointed it at me in a gun store, the situation may well be quite different because I might decide to shoot that person as I was making for cover. Yet, the actions of CowboyBobb693 seem to be a bit overboard to me based on what he has described about the incident in which he was involved. I think the more prudent and more rational move would have been to immediately stepped out of the potential line of fire. Then the next move would have been to have loudly called out to the manager or another store employee while explaining that you do not appreciate firearms being pointed at you, and that there are several other people in the store at whom the customer can point the firearm such as the manager and store clerks and; you would feel much better if the customer pointed the gun at them or better yet at the walls without anyone in the line of sight. I have done this before and it surely embarrasses people into doing it right. Sometimes a little feeling of being shamed is all it takes and, that shame is induced by your loud declaration to the manager about the rube with the gun.
Bye the way, in an effort to preempt a retort of the following nature:
You don't know me nor do I know you, you have no idea about my level of training, military service etc.... but, if you were to read my ENTIRE post you will notice that I asked him THREE times not to point the weapon at me. Now if you or any other member of this board were to continue to point a weapon at someone after being warned this many times I'm sure that you should/ would take remedial training in weapons handling.
please let me say I did read the entire post. What was done was overboard. As a matter of fact to have remained in the line of sight the second time (I’ll give up the first) was foolish in my opinion. To have attacked this person physically was quite likely an arrestable offense for which anyone could have been convicted quite easily in some jurisdictions. I am not justifying the actions of the ignoramus holding the firearm, he was absolutely wrong to have pointed it at a person but; CowboyBobb693 was, in my opinion, absolutely wrong to have physically assaulted him. There were many much better and fully legal options. Placing the guy in a choke hold could have easily resulted in the store clerk or another store employee firing upon CowboyBobb693.
Of course I do not necessarily agree with the other side so far either. I think I have made that pretty clear so far. I sort of see a middle road here. The guy who pointed that firearm at CowboyBobb693 was a jerk. Maybe not when he did it the first time but, he certainly proved himself one by the third time let alone the second time. If you go to a gun shop, a gun show, a range, a classroom or wherever and; if someone points a firearms at you and you do not become somewhat nervous – well then my friends you well may need counseling. In fact, as I already wrote above, there are times when it might actually be prudent to shoot someone who levels a firearm at you in a gun store. In that regard I have to say that the following rules applied to a firearms conversation are, in my opinion, somewhat ludicrous.
Rule#1 nothing we do is worth getting hurt or hurting others.
Rule #2 a professional keeps himself and others out of trouble.
Rule #3 All accidents and injurys can and should be prevented.
Rule #4 Safety can be managed
Rule #5 You and I can make a diffrence
We are not talking about Romper Room here. We are not talking about a car manufacturing plant in Detroit. We are talking about the use of firearms, the main purpose of which often is to commit harm to another. I have to say that of all the rules mentioned in the most recent above quote, the number 1 rule is quote a shame. It is a pity that anyone would truly believe that there is nothing worth the risk of our own injury or death or, that there is no reason to ever harm or kill someone else. This is certainly the implication I get from that rule in the context in which it was used. Let me explain with an example: I live. I live my life as I and many others in my society see fit. Those are two of the most basic things that I do. Now along comes Dirtbag X who has decided that what I do is not to his liking. He does not like my philosophy, he does not like my politics, he does not like any aspect of my lifestyle. He decides that he will kill me while at the same time killing as many others who are like me as he can kill by blazing away in my direction with a sub-machine gun. I get very lucky and kill him instead. In doing so I kept myself in harm’s way but that was necessary for me to get off a shot and to prevent Dirtbag X from killing or wounding a lot of other people in the crowded mall wherein he tried to kill me and the others. Now you tell me: was it worth getting hurt or hurting others? You will never convince me that it was not.
In closing, I have to point out that this is not a simple issue. Firearms safety is not a simple issue. As I said earlier, the so called four rules are an abbreviation of already abbreviated rules of gun safety and they actually confound the issue by being over simplistic because they do not fit many firearms handling and safety issue that will arise. At least one of those rules is out and out wrong and is little more than pure balderdash. As for making things simple here is, in my view, another example of how one can go way wrong in their thoughts about firearms:
I simplify the 4 rules: Guns are dangerous; treat them as such.
I like the sentiment but I think the sentiment is misplaced onto guns and, isn't that exactly what the antis have done for years! They try to make it appear as if guns are dangerous or as if legitimate law abiding gun owners are dangerous. Guns and legitimate gun owners are not the problem. I will admit the antis have it partly right - it is people who are dangerous but (and this is a big BUT), they do not want to deal with the real problem, the dirtbags who are criminals.
The guns themselves are not the problem and, the guns by themselves are not dangerous. For instance: I once placed a loaded firearm on a piece of furniture in my apartment. I lived there alone. I had no pets that were free to roam the apartment either. Do you know that said firearm stayed there in place for many months (maybe even over a year) without once getting nasty or losing its temper. It never once misbehaved by getting up and walking away. It never once turned around to point itself at me. It never once got itself half cocked, let alone fully cocked, over something I said. It never once fired back at me when I may have uttered an out loud obscenity if I stubbed my toe or was otherwise upset by something. My guess is that in a thousand years that GUN would not have posed a danger to me - that is of its own volition. It would have needed help to have become any sort of a danger to me and, then it would have been somewhat of an indirect danger to me because only the person who would be holding it would truly pose the danger. That person would have to handle it, then point it, then squeeze the trigger. No sir, firearms (at least those in good repair) are not inherently dangerous, people are dangerous and a firearm in their hands just makes them more dangerous - being a jerk like the guy in the store who pointed a gun at CowboyBobb693 makes someone even more dangerous - certainly more dangerous than any gun by itself will ever be...
All the best,
Glenn B
"See, I TOLD you it wouldn't work!!!"
