Lego gun reaction shows conditioned views on armed citizens(Canada)

Gun Rights Examiner ^ | 5 December, 2009 | David Codrea

[marktwain]

There's been a SWAT raid in Toronto over a gun scare, and designer Jeremy Bell was temporarily held at gunpoint. Per the Toronto Sun:

The partner at digital marketing company Teehan+Lax was surrounded by heavily armed tactical officers, cuffed and held against the wall of his Richmond St. W. office -- until, that is, the cops found the gun he had been holding in front of the window about 90 minutes earlier was a pile of blocks.

The BrickGun Semi-Automatic gun (purchased online from BrickGun, "designers and builders of the world's most realistic custom Lego weapon models") arrived at Bell's office Wednesday.

Here is Bell's account of what happened. You get some idea of the level of response the report of a man with a gun prompted, complete with air support:

[MichiganConservative]

Rule #2: Always keep your finger off the trigger.

How hard is this?

[TalonDJ]

Most women, especially in my generation, have had no experience with hunting and, thus, no reason to learn about guns. Wouldn’t you rather have us hesitant about picking up that gun until we have had some safety lessons?

Exactly. More than once I have read local news stories of accidental shootings. Almost all of them have a male boyfreind, father, or uncle handling someone else's gun. He usually claims he was 'cleaning it for her'. At least two of the articles (in less than year) noted he was unfamiliar with the firearm. Reading the subtext it is pretty clear some woman had a guy she may or may not have known how to use and some guy in her life pulled a 'let me show you how it is done' on a firearm he knew nothing about. Fortunatly both times the guy shot one of his own body parts and not someone else's.

While it is no doubt true that many women have an unreasonable fear of firearms it is also true that many/most untrained males don't show them the proper care and respect (the guns, not the women).

[TalonDJ]

Not hard at all, except many people don’t do it. And it is far from all you need to handle an unfamiliar firearm.

[dangerdoc]

Take a gun safety class.

Buy a gun you are comfortable with. Take marksmanship classes and practice, practice, practice.

You should respect a weapon but never fear it, fear leads to mistakes.

BTW, woman take to shooting faster than men. Before you know it, you will be better than most of the men that you know.

[MichiganConservative]

What firearms are these people using? Most revolvers work the same. Most semiautos pistols work the same.

They probably forget Rule #1: Never point it at anything you don’t want to destroy.

Morons. Pride before the(ir) fall.

[BitWielder1]

Rule #2: Always keep your finger off the trigger. How hard is this?

Harder than you'd think. That's where the finger goes naturally for someone not trained.
The first thing you learn gun safety class is the drill:
#1 Always keep the gun pointed in a safe direction.
#2 Keep the finger off the trigger.
There is more, but those two are the most important.

[Shimmer1]

Shimmer is another exception!

[MrB]

I thought that was rule 2.
Rule one is “all guns are always loaded”.

[MichiganConservative]

I was quoting this page:

http://www.nrahq.org/education/guide.asp

[Bigg Red]

Millenial?

***
LOL! No millennial here. I’m a boomer

[MrB]

I went and looked it up myself. The nra has some different rule order from “jeff cooper’s rules”.
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 (and what’s beyond)

The funny thing is, I JUST attended a training class, sponsored by the NRA, and with certified NRA instructors, and they used the above rules/order.

[MichiganConservative]

I bet the NRA and Cooper had different ideas about what is a rule and what’s a basic assumption.

I always assume that a gun is loaded until I visually inspect it and prove that it is not or unload it.

At all times, even after I’ve unloaded it, I practice safe gun handling because doing otherwise would lead to sloppiness that could hurt someone.

[ravingnutter]

I agree with the others that say you should take a gun safety class, find a gun that is comfortable for you and practice. Heck, I’m a boomer too and just passed my CCW test a few months ago along with my best friend (a retired USAF Medic) and her husband. With all that is going on in the world these days, it would be foolish not to be prepared to defend yourself.

[IYAS9YAS]

ND

I'm guessing you mean negligent discharge. I agree with you. There is no such thing as an accidental discharge. All of them can be chalked up to negligence at some point.

[Bigg Red]

With all that is going on in the world these days, it would be foolish not to be prepared to defend yourself.

***
I agree with you completely, which is why it’s on my to-do list for the new year.

[BitWielder1]

... it’s on my to-do list for the new year.

A new convert! Delightful! Welcome to the club!

[TalonDJ]

There are a very tiny number that are due to actual mechanical failures. But most of those are due to poor gunsmithing or manufacture. You are right that nearly everything people call an ‘accident’ are events of negligence.

[bobaloobob]

What is an “ND” Talon?

[TalonDJ]

See post 19.

[OneWingedShark]

>“I don’t like [hammers, pliers, screwdrivers, powersaws, drills, crowbars, or any other tool] around me...” quoth the metro-...

Nothing says ‘shut-up’ to a metro, or most people, like a tire-iron to the face. ;)