Posted on 12/30/2016 10:24:53 AM PST by Timpanagos1
A long-time defender of the Second Amendment was shot and killed in what appears to be negligent discharge death at his home involving a young guest.
(Excerpt) Read more at bearingarms.com ...
How long had he known the “young guest”?
Enough with the fricking clickbait, dammit.
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Maine State Police and Sanford police are investigating the shooting death of Portland Press Herald columnist M.D. Harmon at his home Wednesday afternoon in Sanford.
Police say Michael D. Harmon, 71, died at his home on Brunelle Avenue after a handgun he was showing to a teenage boy went off while the 16-year-old was handling it.
Harmon, a steadfast defender of gun rights and a champion of conservative viewpoints, was a longtime editor and columnist for the Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram. He worked for the newspaper for 41 years, and continued to write a weekly column after he retired in 2011.
The teenage boy and his father, both from North Berwick, were visiting Harmon’s home at the time of the shooting, police said. They have been cooperating with the investigation and detectives were expected to question them again Thursday.
Their names are not being released because the shooting is still under investigation, state police spokesman Steve McCausland said Thursday night.
“The circumstances under which the gun was introduced is still under investigation,” said McCausland, who did not know why the gun was loaded. “It is just one of the many questions we have.”
I always break a handgun down before showing it to someone, and so does every gun enthusiast that I know. We always assume that every firearm is loaded.
The article says Gun Grabbers are already gloating over this man’s death. If this was purely an accident and a moment of careless handling during a visit, I’m sure the teenager and his dad feel terrible about it.
Thanks.
Lack of proper gun safety.
Thank you!
The article does not address that question, nor does it address the nature of their relationship.
The only insight on the shooter the article provides is:
“The teen should have had the basic intelligence not to point a gun at another human being and pull the trigger.”
It does seem odd.
The overwhelming majority of the people I know who are 2nd Amendment advocates are very meticulous in a situation where they are demonstrating or teaching someone about firearms.
Especially someone so public an advocate. Sure, I could understand a yahoo being stupid, because stupidity spans all borders, this just sounds off.
Every firearm is to be treated as loaded until proven otherwise.
When passing a firearm to another person it must first be cleared. The recipient then when accepting the firearm must then also clear the firearm.
The only insight on the shooter the article provides is:
“The teen should have had the basic intelligence not to point a gun at another human being and pull the trigger.”
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Unless grabbing the guy’s gun and shooting him was what the kid intended to do anyway.
And here is the actual Portland Press Herald story quoted in the blog.
The deceased was a columnist for the Portland Press Herald.
Admin Moderator, if this is to be in News, could we change the link to the actual news source, and not the blog?
Thanks, Larry!
Tragic.
WHenever there are guests that want to see or handle the firearms, the first one to come out is the 12 gauge and all 6 rounds are cycled out of the gun in rapid succession, noisily and as offensive as I can be, showing everyone that the gun they are about to touch was indeed loaded. This kinda gives them pause as you hand them every weapon after clearing it.
One thing we know for certain is that it was the lack of gun safety on the part of the person who pulled the trigger.
But on the basis of what we have been told in the story, we cannot tell anything further.
Sure, it might be as simple as an elderly gun owner who handed his weapon to someone with the magazine removed but left a round in the chamber and assumed it was unloaded, and an inexperienced person pointing it where they shouldn’t have and pulling the trigger.
But given the details, it could be anything. For all we know, he may have been teaching target shooting and the kid turns and shoots him.
I mean, look what happened to Chris Kyle. People can be strange.
All unanticipated discharges come from unloaded guns. Still sorry for this man’s death regardless of circumstances.
Thank you.
You must also know to whom you are handing any type of weapon.
However the instructor did pound a few things into us that will keep you from getting killed or injured. Unload the weapon before you hand it to somebody. When somebody hands you a gun, make it safe by unloading it. NEVER point the gun at anyone, even if you think it isn't loaded.
Kind of basic.
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