Constitutional carry wouldn't eliminate need for safety training in Texas, experts say

[AndyS]

When North Texas firearm instructors Spence Dixon and Curtis Van Liew offer free gun safety and legal update classes, they say nobody wants to come.

“People that are in this mentality of a firearm think that all they need is the information they get from Hollywood, YouTube, Instagram and things that they can Google,” said Dixon of Defensive Solutions of Texas in Fort Worth. “If you can’t give away training, then something’s wrong with the mindset. Personal accountability... just doesn’t exist in our society anymore.”

https://www.star-telegram.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article250845429.html?

I'm not sure about society at large but gun people sure as hell have no sense of personal responsibility. Legislation has passed the Texas house that would eliminate the requirements that to carry a gun one must undergo an expanded background check, take classes in safety, gun law and prove proficiency in the use of their firearm. The legislation is currently in Senate committee and it appears there aren't enough votes to advance to the floor. Should it pass the senate it would be legal in Texas to open or conceal carry with no training, qualification or scrutiny at all. What could go wrong in a Stand Your Ground State?

I posted this earlier https://www.democraticunderground.com/126213749

The article above includes this image:
Note the bullet pock marks in the wall less than an arm's length in front of the shooting bench.

Another headline in the same edition of the Ft Worth Star Telegram:
As she was launching adult life, Fort Worth woman was shot dead in error as she drove

“She was wonderful,” Dunn said. “She was 18 and full of life.”

19 other states already have some form of 'constitutional carry'.

What is wrong with us?

[lark]

1. Way too many people in this nation are insane with rage for made up stupid reasons.

They really believe the race was stolen, they think CV is not real, they think Drumpf was good for the nation and all cops are good and they are fucking idiots who would fail any 5th grade science test. A friend I went to school with who is a repug became a pharmacist and he's barely clinging to the party though he does hate drumpf because of the grifting, hate and lying about science things. He DIDN'T vote for drumpf in 2020 - but he's in the minority in that right wing idiot party, he believes and promotes science.

[BGBD]

2. This is actually why I don't go to gun ranges.

They are ideal places to get accidentally shot in the head.

Imagine when you go to the gym and how many people there are working out with no idea of the correct form or use of a machine....now replace the 45 pound plates with .45 S&W.

[Kaleva]

3. I think what you are describing is an extremely rare event.

Like people who won't go to a gold course because of a fear of being struck by lightning.

[BGBD]

4. It's not that rare.

Did you notice those pock marks? Each if those was a bullet accidentally fired. Ranges are designed for riccochets to direct away or not happen at all. Not hit the walll next to the shooters. Those was all somebody firing directly into the wall.

And I've managed to own guns for 25 years without one ever going off on accident. Gun safety isn't hard if you use some common sense.

[Dial H For Hero]

5. It's extraordinarily rare, actually.

Roughly one person is accidentally killed per year at gun ranges, on average...that's one out of the millions who go there every year.

[Kaleva]

6. According to 1 source, there were 405 unintentional gun deaths in the entire country in 2013

This is supposedly from the CDC which did not break where the deaths occurred and I can't find a source that actually confirms that.

I did find the below at the CDC website:

"In 2018, there were 39,740 firearm-related deaths in the United States – that’s about 109 people dying from a firearm-related injury each day. Six out of every 10 deaths were firearm suicides and more than 3 out of every 10 were firearm homicides."

https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/firearms/fastfact.html

The above suggests that 1 out of 10 firearm related deaths is unintentional which comes out to 3974 for the year 2018. My guess is that very, very few out of that 3974 occurred at a firing range.

"Lightning is one of the leading causes of weather-related fatalities. But the odds of being struck by lightning in a given year are only around 1 in 500,000."

https://www.cdc.gov/disasters/lightning/victimdata.html

If one accepts the above, then the chances of being killed at a firing range is pretty much zilch.

[AndyS]

8. Well,

"Lightning is one of the leading causes of weather-related fatalities. But the odds of being struck by lightning in a given year are only around 1 in 500,000."

But the chance of being struck over a lifetime to age 80 is one in 15,300.

Hang out with people who carry guns long enough and . . .

[BGBD]

9. "Pretty Much zilch"

Except that there's new stories about it happening pretty regularly.

https://www.google.com/search?q=accidental+shooting+at+gun+range&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS918US918&sxsrf=ALeKk02rnqptBvZvZhE721DY8iSbUgeVhw%3A1619189202698&ei=0t2CYIPvKeDR5NoPmK6-qAI&oq=accidental+shooting+at+gun+range&gs_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAwyBAgjECcyAggAOgcIIxCwAxAnOgcIABCwAxAeOgcIIxCwAhAnOgYIABAHEB46BAgAEB46BAgAEA1Q1hJYzCBg-TJoAnAAeACAAX6IAaAFkgEDMC42mAEAoAEBqgEHZ3dzLXdpesgBAsABAQ&sclient=gws-wiz&ved=0ahUKEwiDoIDqzZTwAhXgKFkFHRiXDyUQ4dUDCA4

Let's talk about the number of friends I have that go to ranges and how they all have stories about somebody sweeping them with a muzzle. Pure luck that they didn't get shot, honestly. Let's again talk about the dozen or more bullet marks in the wall, each an accidental discharge that could have killed somebody.

Your chances of getting eaten by a bear are pretty much zilch too....unless you go hang out around some wild grizzly bears.

[Voltaire2]

7. "Constitutional carry" is bullshit rw framing.

Legalization of concealed carry has zero to do with the constitution.