People like this are responsible...

[coloradokevin]

...for us losing our rights.

http://www.9news.com/news/world/article.aspx?storyid=111159&catid=347


Note how cleverly the article once again states that the gun "went off". Also pay attention to the fact that such a story suddenly becomes national news (unlike the other thousands of natural/unnatural deaths that occur daily).

As experienced gun owners, I'm sure we have all witnessed guns just jumping up and firing themselves. What a tragic story for this family, and unfortunate incident for the gun owning community! There is no reason that this should have ever happened, and the media is playing it up as if this was just an everyday gun accident!

 

[feedthehogs]

HOMER, Mich. (AP) - Police say a 12-year-old Michigan boy was shot and killed when a gun being cleaned by his father went off.

Police say Ian Dunn died Tuesday afternoon at the home about 90 miles west of Detroit. Police are investigating, but they say the shooting appears to be accidental.

Police Chief Steven Fisher tells WWMT-TV that the father, 41-year-old Kevin Dunn, was cleaning the rusty gun. Fisher says it had been in storage for some time and the father had forgotten that there was a round in it.

The boy was struck in the head when the gun went off. He had been home sick from school.






Myself I don't see or read any hype into this story. Short and to the point.

Not a whole lot of national stories where a father kills his own kid, accidental or not.

Stuff like this will continue to happen unless all the gun rights organizations start to market safe gun handling education especially with the recent run on guns.

The phrase " treat every gun as if it were loaded" should be burned into everyone's mind. There should also be a national campaign with bill boards across the country with this very phrase.

 

[MDG1976]

was that an accident??

 

[coloradokevin]

Myself I don't see or read any hype into this story. Short and to the point.

Not a whole lot of national stories where a father kills his own kid, accidental or not.

Police say a 12-year-old Michigan boy was shot and killed when a gun being cleaned by his father went off.

Although it may not be media "hype", the implication in that statement would certainly lead the uneducated an underinformed to believe that the gun itself was responsible for this criminally negligent homicide! The sole and complete responsibility for this needless death rests with the father of the deceased child. Admittedly it is a tragic incident, but it was 100% avoidable, and I think the choice of verbage by the media would imply that the gun itself was partially responsible.

Furthermore, I know of probably 6-10 incidents this year alone in my metro area where children have been killed at the hands of their parents (either through abuse, neglect, or other malicious misdeeds). None of these stories made national news.

I'm not trying to downplay an innocent child's death, but I think we need to realize that gun-related stories are favorite choices for the media.

And, I agree with your point that properly educated gun owners are required before we can hope to avert these needless tragedies.

 

[rainbowbob]

Very sad...and very frustrating as well. As you pointed out, they reported not once, but twice, that the gun "went off."

There is no point in complaining that this story gets reported - it is news when a child dies tragically. But we can complain that the reporting is so misleading.

Better they report that a man negligently fired a round into his son's head after failing to clear the firearm, failing to point the firearm in a safe direction, and failing to keep his finger off the trigger.

These "accidents" should be reported - and prosecuted - as the negligent homicides they actually are.

 

[highorder]

All guns are always loaded, and dont point them at things you dont want destroyed.

Very sad, but 100% preventable.

 

[jakemccoy]

A gun is always loaded.

That rule may ruffle the feathers of those who are professional enough. It should.

 

[DHJenkins]

Instead of "went off", what phrase would you use that does not imply the father is guilty of a crime?

This looks more like a paper reporting a story and not wanting to get sued over the details than an attack on gun ownership.

 

[Gamera]

You know that father has gotta feel really bad

 

[jakemccoy]

Instead of "went off", what phrase would you use that does not imply the father is guilty of a crime?

I would use, "The gun was fired."

That's a passive voice sentence that doesn't indicate what caused the gun to fire, but does indicate something or someone fired the gun.

On the other hand, saying "the gun went off" is an active voice sentence that tends to indicate the gun caused the gun to go off. That's absurd and technically incorrect.

 

[DHJenkins]

Yes, but since the father was holding the gun, it implies that he fired it.

EDIT - I just defeated my own argument - "the gun was accidentally fired while the father was cleaning it" meets my requirements...

Nevermind, then.

 

[servantofinari]

*pounds head on wall* Rule one: all guns are loaded. Rule two: keep the magazine out (or empty if it’s non-detachable) and the breach open. Rule Three: Keep the weapon pointed away from any living thing. How stupid does this guy have to be not to follow these three rules? Anyone who gets shot or shoots another while “cleaning a gun” was reckless. I can say that I feel sorry for the kid, I can’t say I feel sorry for his father. These are the people who should not have weapons. (Why does the Darwin Awards ring a bell here?)

 

[jakemccoy]

Yes, but since the father was holding the gun, it implies that he fired it.

EDIT - I just defeated my own argument - "the gun was accidentally fired while the father was cleaning it" meets my requirements...

Nevermind, then.

OK, but even if he were holding the gun, saying "the gun was fired" is proper and is not outright saying the holder of the gun fired the gun.

Saying "the gun went off" is never the best description. It's a media ploy, or at least sloppy grammar. If you can give me a circumstance where saying "the gun went off" is the best way to describe a gun being fired, then I will stand corrected.

 

[feedthehogs]

believe that the gun itself was responsible for this criminally negligent homicide

Oh come on, thats just silly.

Not one gun hating liberal I know of would make that far fetched conclusion.

Only a frustrated english major would conclude that.

 

[jakemccoy]

Oh come on, thats just silly.

Not one gun hating liberal I know of would make that far fetched conclusion.

Only a frustrated english major would conclude that.

For a news story, it's pretty simple: a more accurate description is better than a less accurate description.

The subtle, pervasive, psychological effect of words does matter.

 

[rainbowbob]

"The gun was negligently fired while the father was cleaning it."

Fixed it.

...believe that the gun itself was responsible for this criminally negligent homicide

Not one gun hating liberal I know of would make that far fetched conclusion.

Really? I know many non-gun folks who have told me they believe that guns are capable of going off accidentally. I have patiently explained that a modern firearm will not fire without something or someone pulling the trigger - not even if it is dropped. They are still somewhat sceptical.

Where do you suppose they get those ideas?

 

[rbernie]

People like this are responsible...
...for us losing our rights.

No, they are not. People who react to this kind of tragedy by trying to ban the object involved are responsible for losing us our rights.

You cannot stop accidents and/or stupid from happening. You can stop people from trying to profit from it.

 

[Kind of Blued]

Even if things like this didn't happen, folks who dislike private firearm ownership would still find ammunition to use for their cause.

A perfect example is the .50 BMG rifle, which has been demonized simply due to its potential for harm, despite its non-existant role in the commission of all kinds of grievous felonious acts.

Nevertheless, things like this truly suck, and I understand if an otherwise law-abiding gun owner must face criminal sanction for his negligence, although I do think he'll likely suffer plenty without it.

 

[Dirtpile]

The headline is even worse. "12-year-old boy killed by gun being cleaned by dad."

That and the text in the article definitely would cause one to believe the gun itself did the killing.

 

[renegade1alpha]

Personally I always find the statement "gun went off while cleaning it" ridiculous. It should be: "before attempting to disassemble the firearm for cleaning I had it pointed in a direction that it shouldn't be pointed and before clearing it I just pulled the trigger with absolutely no regard as to whether it was loaded or not"

I don't care who you are, you NEVER, I repeat NEVER point a firearm at anything you don't want a bullet to go into (school, pet, child, friend, etc) and just pull the trigger. It goes something like this:

(1) Keep firearm pointed in a safe direction
(2) (a) If its a revolver, open the cylinder and remove the source of ammunition. Leave cylinder open if need be. (b) If its semi auto; remove magazine (if removable), check the magazine well, lock the slide to the rear (ejecting any ammunition that may be in the chamber) and VISUALLY check to see that a round has not been left in the chamber. If need be, FEEL to ascertain whether a round has been left in a chamber. These steps
(3) Keep all ammunition AWAY from the firearm you are cleaning.
(4) Repeat steps 1-3 as many times as you feel nessessary.

Gun is now ready to clean.

 

[Grey_Mana]

Gun went off while being cleaned and pointed at somebody? That's the best his lawyer can do, I suppose.

It's as plausible as 'honey, I was giving the prostitute money to help her turn her life around!' or 'I was waiting to be nominated, before paying my taxes' or 'that child porn on my computer was for research purposes'.

 

[Duke of Doubt]

It may have been a Glock. No, wait; it was "rusty."

 

[rainbowbob]

It may have been a Glock.

Because Glocks fire spontaneously while pointing themselves at your children?

Whacha got in that pipe?

 

[coloradokevin]

Instead of "went off", what phrase would you use that does not imply the father is guilty of a crime?

As far as I'm concerned the father is guilty of a crime.

In Colorado that crime would have been Criminally Negligent Homicide:

"CRS 18-3-105: Any person who causes the death of another person by conduct amounting to criminal negligence commits criminally negligent homicide which is a class 5felony."




Perhaps instead of saying:

"Police say a 12-year-old Michigan boy was shot and killed when a gun being cleaned by his father went off."

The article could have said:

"Police say a 12-year-old Michigan boy was shot and killed when his father recklessly handled a loaded weapon and fired it into the boy's head"

 

[Kind of Blued]

"Police say a 12-year-old Michigan boy was shot and killed when his father recklessly handled a loaded weapon and fired it into the boy's head"

"Police say a 12-year-old Michigan boy was killed when his father recklessly fired an uncleared gun he was cleaning."

If we're talking brevity, I'd say that's all that's needed. It explains what happens, and puts blame where blame is due. We're splitting hairs here; hairs that shouldn't need to be split. Unfortunately "stupid" is a communicable disease.