Gun "Accidentally" Kills 16 Year Old In Louisiana

[Lizzie Poppet]

57. I'm not suggesting it's a crime prevention measure.

This thread's not about criminal use of firearms, it's about an accident that happened when an idiot violated multiple absolutely basic principles of gun safety. Rigorous training helps prevent this sort of tragedy by making those principles completely automatic. That's why I say I can't imagine doing that: it's automatic for me to check the chamber of any purportedly "unloaded" gun, to keep my finger away from the trigger unless the weapon's pointed on-target, and to never point it at anything I don't want to destroy. It's fully ingrained behavior.

I do agree wholeheartedly that the ease with which irresponsible, completely untrained persons can obtain firearms is a big problem. I support mandatory training requirements. I understand the argument against requiring government permission to exercise a constitutional right, but I think it's a useful compromise. Firearms accidents aren't remotely the problem criminal misuse of guns is, or course. But required training seems like a way to reduce those comparatively small numbers even further.