Virginia State Delegate has an ND in his Office (merged threads)

[dk-corriveau]

Delegate apologizes for shot
By HUGH LESSIG
(804) 225-7345
January 26, 2006, 3:22 PM EST

RICHMOND -- A visibly shaken Virginia lawmaker apologized to his colleagues today after accidentally firing a handgun in his office while attempting to unload it.

Del. John S. Reid, R-Henrico, could still call it "a lucky shot." The slug slammed into a bulletproof vest that hangs on his door.

He had received the vest as a gag gift several years ago, but Reid was not laughing today.

He said he did not know if he would continue to carry a gun. "I've got some soul-searching to do about that, " he said.

Reid said he's had a permit to carry a gun for about two years and was carrying it because of unspecified phone calls he has received.

 

[V4Vendetta]

Anyone else think he did it on purpose to try to give evidence to get more gun control?

 

[ArmedBear]

Let me guess... It was some newer DAO gun without a manual safety.

There are some damn good reasons for having a manual safety, and this would be one of them.

Yes, I know, never trust the safety. I don't. But sure it does help prevent AD when loading/unloading the thing.

 

[Justin]

V4V, might want to adjust your metal hat, some of the rays are getting through.

​

 

[michiganfan]

Justin LOL Are there any Republicans in favor of gun control or perhaps this is a closet Democrat trying to give the Republican party a bad name.

 

[1911Tuner]

re:

Dear Mr. Reid,

The trigger is there to fire the gun. Pulling the trigger makes that happen.
Be careful!

Sincerely,

A concerned citizen

Maybe somebody will send him a letter...(Hint)

 

[dk-corriveau]

He got an A- from the NRA and is a Republican.

 

[dogbaloo]

The Safety...

is a function of the handler, not a function of the gun.

I suppose though that firing IS an acceptable way to unload it, but the office is probably not an acceptable place!

 

[ArmedBear]

is a function of the handler, not a function of the gun.

I suppose though that firing IS an acceptable way to unload it, but the office is probably not an acceptable place!

Agreed about safety, but...

I've seen two videos of AD's by on-duty law enforcement, one in a classroom full of kids, the other narrowly missing the face of a suspect who, while he was under arrest, probably didn't deserve execution for whatever he did.

Both happened with a certain Austrian semiauto that has a convenient safety that's part of the trigger.

I guess I'm old-fashioned, but I always thought that the safety and the trigger ought to be separate, since they have somewhat different purposes. Safety, in an indoor environment, involves a few things for me. Point the gun where no one will be hurt if it fires. Put the safety on, but pretend it's not. Keep my finger off the trigger. Drop the magazine. Check or unload the chamber.

If I do all of those things, the chances of tragedy are minimal. Any of them missing just means more chance for tragedy.

 

[V4Vendetta]

"V4V, might want to adjust your metal hat, some of the rays are getting through."

What do you mean?

 

[HRLRDR22]

I dont get how you accidentally fire a gun....like 1911 tuner said the trigger is there to fire the weapon. If i woulda done that at work I woulda been fired and probably arrested for illegally discharging a firearm in city limits....but then again I dont hold office in a virginia lawmakinf office.
2 cents are always free from me

 

[MN_Strelok]

Del. John S. Reid, R-Henrico, could still call it "a lucky shot." The slug slammed into a bulletproof vest that hangs on his door.

Lucky or aimed? Sounds like he could've been dry-firing. Well, attempting to dry-fire anyway...

Both happened with a certain Austrian semiauto that has a convenient safety that's part of the trigger.

And in both cases, fingers were on triggers when they should not have been. Check the military stats on NDs with Berettas and M-16s. If someone doesn't have proper training or respect for their firearm, a safety won't help.

(Not that I have anything against manual safeties. I've just seen too many people overcome safety features in the course of totally preventable accidents.)

 

[1911 guy]

1911's and ND's

As we all know, you can't unload a 1911 with the safety engaged, the slide won't move. Despite this, I have managed to keep my "booger hook" away from the "bang switch" and have yet to ND. I sense a recurring theme in all our posts.

 

[Old Dog]

I dont get how you accidentally fire a gun

There are some of us present who will (albeit somewhat shamefacedly) 'fess up that they have had a negligent discharge.

Typically it will happen when dry-firing a handgun one believes to be unloaded, having not checked the chamber ... or out of some other type of carelessness or outright stupidly (alcohol is often a factor). Speaking as someone who years ago put a hole in his bedroom ceiling with a pistol he thought unloaded, it can happen. Yes, the pistol should have been unloaded, but I simply failed to check. And this after being the beneficiary of some excellent high-speed training, both military and civilian, in handgun use, followed by several years of sustained training, carrying and shooting.

I'm not one of those who will say that everyone will someday have an ND. Many, perhaps most, of you will never be responsible for an ND. But let's not throw someone under the bus simply because he/she has an ND. Especially if they are man enough to step forward and talk about it publicly; let's all learn from it, and be thankful no one was injured or killed.

 

[Justin]

What do you mean?

Never attribute to malice or conspiracy that which can be the result of utter stupidity.

 

[Preacherman]

An ND in a political office? He's following Clinton's example...

 

[Mongo the Mutterer]

Na Preacherman... Clinton wasn't an ND, he just didn't aim well

 

[1911Tuner]

re:

An ND in a political office? He's following Clinton's example...

O-kay...Scratch one more keyboard. Coffee in the works tends to make things go Snap-Fizzle-Pop.

Preacher...You're bad. Bad! Go to your room...

ROFL!

 

[lucky_fool]

I heard about this on the radio while driving home from work. My first thought was "Oh fudge, there goes all the pro-gun legislation in this General Assembly session right down the tubes." Only I didn't say fudge.

 

[Standing Wolf]

Life is a lot simpler if you just leave guns loaded instead of fooling around with them.

 

[dk-corriveau]

Lucky_Fool

That was my thought as well when I first read the story. :banghead: I will be interested to see if the VCDL has anything to say about the events.

 

[skidmark]

Delegate Reid is fairly pro-2A and seems to be a friend of VCDL, for what that info is worth.

According to 3 news interviews today he states he was unloading the pistol (unspecified semiautomatic) and had problems with the "little button you press, right there next to the trigger." (Used hand to simulate gun and magazine release button.)

Del. Reid was honest enough to say that he "thought" he did not have his finger on the trigger but obviously must have, as that's why the round was fired. I have not heard Del. Reid say the gun "went off" or :it was an accident." Then again, I have not heard the term "negligent discharge" either.

Del. Reid stated he needs to do some "soul searching" about continuing to CCW. Sounds to me like the right and responsible thing to do after you have just pulled the trigger when you should not have had your finger anywhere near it.

The worst part of the local news reports was some state Senator (did not catch name or recognize the face) who made a comment that "all politicians" get threatening phone calls "but that is no reasaon to carry a gun." Guess he is one of those that have 911 set up on speed-dial, huh? (Speed-dial does make the cops respond faster, doesn't it? )

I do not think this will kill any of the pro-gun legislation in the pipes this year. I'm more worried about the 2 pellet guns found in one of the Richmond middle schools. One was hidden in the ceiling of a boys' bathroom. (OK, yesterday they caught a kid with an unloaded 9mm and a (Boy Scout type) knife at the same school.)

Story on the news, right after the one about Del Reid, also stated there are 25 freestanding metal detectors at 6 area schools, and named the 3 high schools & 3 middle schools where they are.

stay safe.

skidmark

 

[hirundo82]

From what I've seen online, the gun was a KelTec .380 (sorry, not familiar with model numbers). And the person who said that nobody should carry a gun for self defense was Sen. Richard Saslaw, from the People's Republic of Fairfax of course.

 

[skidmark]

From VCDL:

In a strange twist, Delegate Jack Reid had an unintended discharge
while unloading his Kel-tec .380 in the General Assembly Building
today! No one was hurt and the bullet was stopped by a bulletproof
vest hanging on his door. (The vest had been given to him as a joke
by a policeman - but fate had a more important use for it.)

This is exactly why the restaurant ban has to go. The more you
needlessly handle a gun, the more the chance of an unintended
discharge. Ideally we should just be able to put on our protection
in the morning and not touch it until we remove it that night. The
restaurant ban constantly interferes with that simple plan by making
many people handle their gun so that the gun can be left in the car.
Even for those of us that open carry instead, we may have to handle a
gun so that we can switch from a concealed-carry holster to an
open-carry holster.

That's silly - let's get rid the much hated restaurant ban THIS year!

The "restaurant ban" prohibits concealed carry in places that serve alcoholic beverages, but allows open carry. Lots of gun shifting seen taking place between cars & front doors at a number of places I patronize. I just know the Law of Averages has to catch up.

stay safe.

skidmark

 

[Kodiaz]

There is only one thing to be said about ND's


Keep your booger hook off the bang switch