The Price of Carelessness

What a horrible tragedy! It makes me physically ill to think about.

It is the height of carelessness to leave a loaded weapon OUTSIDE YOUR PHYSICAL CONTROL when children are present. My guns are ALWAYS ALWAYS holstered on my hip, stored safely, or unloaded and separated from the ammo (when cleaning them, for instance). Since the grandmother has a concealed carry permit, she had to have taken a safety class. Unfortunately, as carry become more common this kind of thing is more likely to happen as the standard of the average armed person declines. It's like driving -- most people can pass the test, but it doesn't mean that they practice their best driving skills on a daily basis.

The Four Rules of Gun Safety

RULE I: ALL GUNS ARE ALWAYS LOADED
RULE II: NEVER LET THE MUZZLE COVER ANYTHING YOU ARE NOT WILLING TO DESTROY
RULE III: KEEP YOUR FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER UNTIL YOUR SIGHTS ARE ON THE TARGET
RULE IV: BE SURE OF YOUR TARGET

The 5th rule should be:

If there are children around who haven't been taught to respect firearms, keep firearms in your personal possession or locked up.

I'm sure this is covered in any safety course. Grandma will spend the rest of her life regretting her carelessness.

(Thx to CAB for the link)

UPDATE: The idiot parade continues. Read on at Marko's.