Your Stupidity-Induced Gun Violence Double Feature Is Here
Another day, another "gun nut shoots self but hey guns are totally cool and safe" day, which is now all days ending in "y." Freedumb! What have we got in the ol' virtual mailbag today? Looks like some road rage self-perforation and some cop shoots himself good times. How do we possibly choose which one to talk about first? Coin flipped. Road rage guy kicks it off.
According to the Orlando Sentinel, the man said he had been driving toward Orlando on Interstate-4 when another driver allegedly flashed a weapon after the two had some type of altercation.
To protect himself, the man brandished his own handgun, causing it to discharge into his leg.
We are no expert on guns, but it does not seem very self protective to shoot yourself in the leg. Maybe that's just us? Do basic gun safety classes cover smart uses of weaponry when someone cuts you off in traffic, or do you have to take the advanced concealed carry class for that?
Maybe this super-safe police chief -- oh my god he is not just a cop HE IS THE CHIEF OF POLICE -- can tell us how to keep our gun safely holstered yet ready at all times.
[David] Counceller, who was off-duty at the time, was comparing his 40-caliber Glock handgun with a newer model at Wullf’s Gun Shop. The trouble began when he began to holster his weapon.
“It got tangled in my clothing,” he added, as quoted by the Star. “I was wearing a sweatshirt and a fleece jacket. I felt (the gun) go in the holster and I pushed it, but it was tangled in the material which caused it to discharge. The bullet went into my leg and then into the floor.”
Hmmm. They must not cover safely dealing with your gun while dressed in layers until those Marine sharpshooter type classes. To be fair, though, the police chief did handle his self-shooting in a pretty baller way by driving himself to the hospital, which we definitely would not do if we shot ourselves.
OK, police chief guy. We forgive you for this bit of dumbness. Wait. We forGAVE you for this bit of dumbness until we learned that you managed to shoot yourself on a previous occasion.
“I was working third shift as a captain. I was unloading (the gun) to take it to the gunsmith and I didn’t drop the barrel to see if there was (a bullet) in the chamber,” he said, per the Star. “The shot hit my hand. That one really hurt.”
If you live where this person is police chief, which is some bit of Nowheresville, Indiana, you may wish to consider relocating because there's just no telling how many times this guy is going to accidentally shoot himself and others in the coming years.
If I'm reading that right, however, all you need to do is pull the t-thing the right way (or catch it on a fold of your fleece jacket and push hard).
As it happens, I don't have a semi-auto handgun, but if I did, I would never carry it with a round in the chamber. If were to find myself in a situation where I didn't have time to rack a round, I would be fucked anyway.
Or if there were Skittles in the pocket.