[Wolfy]

DEAR ABBY: My fiance's best friend, "Ted," accidentally shot himself in the head in front of another friend, "Matt." Matt blames himself for the accident, even though Ted survived and is doing OK.
Matt and Ted were drinking and looking at Ted's gun. The gun has a history of not ejecting the bullet when you want it to. Ted looked to see if the gun had any bullets in it, and it didn't, so Ted put the barrel to his head and pulled the trigger.

Matt feels that Ted blames him for what happened, although nobody blames him. It was just a stupid accident. Are there any support groups out there that my fiance and I can get Matt into? He's really messed up and needs to talk to someone. -- CARING FRIEND IN MONTANA

DEAR CARING FRIEND: Among the rules of responsible gun ownership are never to point the barrel at anyone and never to presume that the gun is empty. Ted is lucky his stupidity didn't cost him his life. If there is any support group I'd recommend for Matt -- and Ted, too, as soon as he's fully recovered -- it would be AA. It appears both of them have a serious problem with alcohol.


I came across this story today and was impressed by Abby's knowledge of 2 of the 4 Safety Rules. I also like the way she put the blame on the individual and not the gun.

[homeka45]

Yes, a refreshing change from the demonization of inanimate objects. :)

[Kobun]

She could also have given them an aplication for the Darwin Award for the next time they start drinking.

[Taurus 66]

:mad: Yep, guns and alcohol don't mix. :mad:

[ZeroX]

Wow, I'm impressed.

[io333]

The original author of the column was highly anti-gun -- worse than the worst democrat you could imagine. It is now being written by her daughter, who has apparently seen some light.

[DelayedReaction]

I have to wonder; exactly how drunk were they that they missed that the gun was loaded despite checking it? I bet it's more likely that it was semiauto, no round in the chamber, but a loaded magazine. Pull back the slide, see there's nothing in the chamber, and then when you release the slide it loads the round for you.

Kudos to Abby for giving good advice. How would the old one have responded?

[Andrew Rothman]

The gun has a history of not ejecting the bullet when you want it to.

Would that be a failure to fire issue? :)

What a refreshingly sensible answer! Kudos to Abby, Jr!

[jojo]

Wow, I am truley surprised. That was not at all what I expected. Maybe there's hope after all.

jojo

[griz]

Ted looked to see if the gun had any bullets in it, and it didn't, so Ted put the barrel to his head and pulled the trigger.

Makes it sound as if the step after checking the chamber is point it at your head. :rolleyes: Good answer though.

[molonlabe]

It appears both of them have a serious problem with alcohol.

Yup. Normal people don't sit around sticking guns to their head.

[swingcatt]

If you're stupid enough to put any gun to your head and pull the trigger, you are stupid enough to live (or not live) with the consequences.

Tough love,
SC

[Rupestris]

I'm impressed. Not the answer I was expecting at all.
Didn't blame the gun. Didn't blame the alcohol. Did blame the two clowns that should know that the two don't mix!

[Gus Dddysgrl]

Good advice and I'm impressed. I sometimes like Dear Abbey, but not always.

Gus

[WhoKnowsWho]

I must agree that the answer was very surprising, thumbs up for the younger brighter Abby!

[280PLUS]

One of the "Fathers of Modern Psychology" put a gun against his head because the voices in his head told him to.

I began to worry a mite about the world of psychology after learning that one.

I expected a venomous anti statement from Abby but am pleasantly surprised.

:)

[Wedge]

Gives new meaning to the term "press check"

[proven]

i'll tip my hat to abby on that response. there should be more likeminded coverage of stupid gun incidents in the public eye.

[Henry Bowman]

Yep, guns and alcohol don't mix.
More importantly, stupidity and guns do not mix. :banghead:

[OF]

I'm with you, Henry. This isn't a case of the drunks, it's a case of the terminally stupids. I've been drunk before, you didn't see me putting guns to my head. And I was pretty stupid back then, too...so this guy has to be waaaaay stupid. :)

- Gabe

PS: Good respose by Abby there.

[Gordon Fink]

“Ted is lucky his stupidity didn’t cost him his life.…”

I’m not so sure about that. :rolleyes:

~G. Fink

[R.H. Lee]

Ted looked to see if the gun had any bullets in it, and it didn't, so Ted put the barrel to his head and pulled the trigger.
:eek: :scrutiny: :rolleyes: :p

[duckslayer]

Ted looked to see if the gun had any bullets in it, and it didn't, so Ted put the barrel to his head and pulled the trigger.

I am at a loss for words... :confused:

[Standing Wolf]

...it would be AA. It appears both of them have a serious problem with alcohol.

To say the least!

[Gatofeo]

The rock group Chicago lost its lead singer, Terry Kath, about 1978. Peter Cetera took over as lead singer after Kath's death.
Kath had a party at his home with a bunch of friends. Alcohol and almost certainly drugs were involved (It was the 1970s ... drugs were so commonplace as to be expected).
Anyway, Kath started showing off the Walther PPK he had bought a few days before, as the "James Bond gun."
He pulled out the magazine, put it to his head with a mischevious smile, and pulled the trigger as a joke. Blew his brains out in front of his wife and friends.
After the incident, I recall that people were blaming Walther for making a semi-auto that would fire with its magazine removed! They demanded that Walther revamp the PPK to have a magazine safety. Walther stuck to its gun and refused.
Today, millions would be spent on a lawsuit, charging that the PPK was a "defective" gun. :cuss: Like Mary Tyler Moore, whose son blew his brains out with a Winchester shotgun about 20 years ago. She couldn't admit that her son would do such a heinous thing, so she blamed the shotgun and took Winchester to court, to force it to revamp its safety.
I don't recall which model Winchester it was, but it had a long history of no incidents involving faulty safeties. The bitch won. The Winchester's safety is revamped and she's proud that she made an evil gun-maker back down. I believe she got some money out of it too but am unsure.
Anyway, my American-made Walther PPK I bought a few years ago has no magazine disconnect.
I remember the Kath incident well, because every weepie-whiney wanted to blame the PPK, not Kath's stupidity.
Dear Abby's response is remarkable. I grew up reading her, and cussing her ignorance on the issues of gun control and gun ownership. Sounds like her daughter has a lot more sense and is more inclined to blame the individual and not the mechanism.

[pezo]

and the author goes on to say "he put the gun to his head and pulled the trigger" as if this is a normal thing for someone to do. this only advocates we take are young to the ranges and teach them to respect firearms. ignorance is deadly.

[Brass Balls]

Abby's response was a pleasant surprise. She places the blame squarely where the blame lies. Good for her.

[Mr. Mysterious]

I wonder what Abby is packing?

[ChopperKen]

Ask Her?
Ken

[Fred Fuller]

Oh yeah. I always use my ear for a clearing barrel too.

lpl/nc

[BluesBear]

Abby's daughter (Pauline?) seems to be a lot more logical regarding the real world than her mother was. Thankfully the column written by her aunt (Ann Landers) expired when she did. She was even more rabidly anti-gun than Abigail was.

While Abby didn't care for guns, Ann had an agenda.

As for the original letter... Why is Matt racked with guilt?
It was Ted's Gun.
It was ted's stupidity.
It was Ted's head.

Did Matt drop Ted on his head a few years back or something to cause him to be this stupid?

Or is Matt's last name Darwin and he feels guilty about that whole evolution thing not quite working out right?

Either way they BOTH need to join AA and learn to stop being so stupid. The they both need to join the NRA, enroll in some safety classes and perhaps preach the Gospel According to Eddie Eagle.

They could perform a public service showing children how not to behave.

[mmike87]

It's great that she just gave objective advice. Regardless of what her personal feelings on gun ownership may be, her advice was objective and solid.

Who knows? Maybe Appy is packin' heat right now! :D