Big gun, small hands, huge mistake

[SecularMotion]

When I first heard about the 9-year-old girl who accidentally killed an instructor with an Uzi on a gun range in Arizona, my first thought was she must have picked up the weapon while no one was paying attention and it accidentally went off. How else could a child that young and that small possibly get her hands on a loaded sub­machine gun? As it turned out there was another way — and, dare I say it? — a totally senseless way. Her parents had paid for an Uzi lesson for her.

I have talked about it before — from movies, to video games to phone apps — this predilection we have in America for guns and violence.

And in that regard I suppose this latest incident shouldn’t be all that surprising. It shouldn’t be, but it is. To knowingly put a weapon of any kind in a child’s hand is to me a questionable strategy as a life lesson. To make it one of the most powerful hand weapons on the planet goes beyond questionable to reckless abandonment.

The reports I’ve read talk about how the now-dead instructor made a mistake by standing to the child’s left instead of right, putting himself directly into the line of fire on a recoil.

http://www.desertsun.com/story/opinion/contributors/2014/08/31/valley-voice-arizona-guns/14893517/

[hlthe2b]

1. It will piss off many of the "responsible" gun owners....

but I doubt I have ever met or heard of a "gun pro" who does not overestimate their abilities, understanding, and competence.... especially as it concerns translating what they "think" they know to others.

[appal_jack]

7. This is a valuable warning, worth minding.

hlthe2b, I'll step-up as just one gun owner who tries to be responsible at all times and say that your warning is extremely relevant. All it takes is one moment of heedlessness and tragedy can follow when guns are involved.

Jeff Cooper is credited with coining the four basic rules of gun safety, and for those who have not read them, they can be seen mid-way through his Wiki page: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Cooper

To these rules, it would be appropriate to add a corollary: never handle a gun whose recoil and other facets of operation you cannot manage.

I will also share a story of a moment of absent-mindedness that almost resulted in tragedy. It involves a tool with a 'trigger' though not a gun, but a chainsaw. I cut my own firewood, and treat my chainsaw with similar caution that I treat firearms. Both are useful but potentially dangerous tools. One time as day was fading toward evening and I was growing tired, I thought to myself, "Just buck and cut one more log." About mid-way through though, I made two mistakes. One, I lowered the saw bar without applying the chain brake, and two, I lowered it too close to my leg. Just that half second of absent-mindedness had the ankle area of my coveralls shredded. I was lucky that the chain did not reach skin.

I was taking many proper precautions, which saved me from a worse fate. I was wearing heavy 8" boots, a helmet & face shield, gloves, etc. I was also wearing kevlar chaps that would protect most of my legs, but not the side of my ankle where the bar just caught that day.

Back to the topic of guns, overconfidence, fatigue, and carelessness can also be deadly. There is video out there on the net of a guy (a DEA agent iirc) known as "Mr. Glock Fotay." Just before literally shooting himself in the food with his .40 caliber Glock pistol at a (get this) gun safety lecture, he declares, "I am the only one in this room qualified to carry this pistol." Oops. He got careless and stupid.

So again, your warning is relevant to us all, no matter how qualified, no matter how experienced.

-app

[99Forever]

2. This nation is beng held hostage by Gun Culture.

This incident is just the latest installment.

[Danny Ray]

3. Children with guns

[IronGate]

4. Wow!!!!!

That is one bad ass little girl.
Great trigger discipline, great aim, hits the target everytime, great control over the weapon.
I wouldn't want to come up against this young girl.

[Duckhunter935]

5. Very impressive

She must train a lot for that speed and accuracy.

[moondust]

6. Ready for Fallujah!

Bring it on, ISIS!

[EX500rider]

8. Wow, what a little bad-ass...

.....anybody breaking into her house when shes home may be in big trouble....lol

[rug]

10. Oh good, I could barely wait another month for the Walking Dead to return.

Under what scenario do you consider this a useful skill? Don't forget to do a risk/benefit analysis before answering.

[DirkGently]

9. Another child sacrificed on the altar of

trying to "normalize" gun fetishist culture.