Grand Forks Herald:

• Always point the muzzle in a safe direction. Be able to control the direction of the muzzle even if you should stumble.

• Treat every firearm as though it were loaded.

• Unload firearms when they are not in use. Keep the action open when the firearm is stored and carry it in a case to the shooting area.

• Be sure the barrel and action are clear of obstruction and that you have the proper ammunition for the firearm you are carrying.

• Be sure of your target before you pull the trigger.

• Never point a firearm at anything you do not want to shoot. Avoid all horseplay with a firearm.

• Never climb a fence, tree or jump a ditch with a loaded firearm. Never pull a firearm toward you by the muzzle.

• Never shoot a bullet at a flat, hard surface or at water.

• Store firearms and ammunition separately.

• Avoid alcohol and other drugs before or during shooting.

For those of use who continually rehearse firearms safety (like me to myself, my readers and my family), it’s always good to hear them again.

But sometimes these things turn into religious observances for the Fudds.  Take for example “unload firearms when they’re not in use,” or “store firearms and ammunition separately.”

An unloaded firearm does you no good in a home invasion or if someone attacks you when you pull over to put fuel in your car.  The government wants the criminals and idiots to be safe, and they want their LEOs to be safe.  The surest way to accomplish this is to effectively disarm you.

In followup to my post on the negligent discharge at Gold’s Gym in Clemson, S.C., Marissa McFarland writes:

Mr. Smith,

I came across your article about the shooting at the Gold’s Gym in Clemson. I noticed your thoughts on the “accident” after the article. I, along with several other members of the gym, are angered by what has happened and the lackadaisical response the gym has had over this. I am planning to contact local media sources to try to get publicity, and hopefully force the gym’s hand on doing something about this. Is there anything you can do to assist us with this matter? Thank you in advance for your time.  This is a petition that was created to ban concealed weapons at all Gold’s Gym locations that have child care present.

Sorry Marissa, but I cannot condone rules against the carry of weapons, not anywhere or any time.  I preach the rules of gun safety to myself and anyone who’ll listen.  The boys who perpetrated the negligent discharge were goobers.  The Sheriff (and prosecutor) are also probably goobers for not charging them with reckless endangerment.

And you are correct to take your business elsewhere.  The market should determine the outcome of the situation.  But I will never favor regulations or rules that prohibit the carry of weapons.  That’s the wrong approach.  It’s like saying that since people have wrecks in cars, automobiles should be illegal.  See how stupid that sounds?

Greenville News:

A member of Gold’s Gym in Clemson accidentally fired a gun that the manager was showing him inside an office at the gym, according to the manager.

The bullet went through the manager’s desktop and lodged in a plastic dolly on the floor below, manager Rob Harrell said.

No one was hurt, but some members are upset about it.

Clemson Police Chief Jimmy Dixon said he didn’t know details about the incident but that no charges would be filed if it was an accident.

“All I can tell you is nobody was hurt, and that’s all I care about,” he said.

Harrell said he brought two handguns to work to show a member who, like him, was a gun enthusiast.

“I told him both firearms had full magazines but neither firearm had one in the chamber,” Harrell said.

The member pulled the trigger a few times on one of the guns that Harrell had removed the magazine from and then picked up a Glock that Harrell hadn’t taken the magazine out of.

“Before I could even say anything, he had picked it up and fired it,” Harrell said. “It went through my desk and straight into the floor.

“It was a horrible mistake, but nothing major happened.”

Oh dear.  How many rules were broken, how many times?  Something major did indeed happen.  People broke the sacred rules of gun safety, and lives could have been lost.  I guess a round was indeed chambered unlike what he said, and I guess he shouldn’t have pointed the gun anywhere, and I guess he shouldn’t have been pulling the trigger, and I guess the idiot who laid the guns out shouldn’t have.

These goobers are fortunate they aren’t being charged with reckless endangerment.