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Toddler shoots and kills mother in Hayden Walmart
This is just a horribly tragic story and the reason it's so tragic is because it was so preventable.
I'm the VP of the local chapter of an organization that provides professional education for those in my career field. Every month our board meets to discuss the topics that we'll be covering in our seminars and inevitably we have a lot of interest in new topics and exciting topics and flashy topics. Hey, those topics put asses in the seats and that's part of our job. But there is another part of our job and that's to make sure that those who are member of our organization or attend our events are performing at the highest professional standards they can and in order to achieve that standard we also need to constantly reinforce the basics.
I'm a tax and accounting guy. I can run through your financial data faster than you can run a comb through your hair and can not only spot an anomaly from a mile away but can usually tell you why it's out of whack half an hour before I hit my billing minimum. That being said, I'm also human and when I get too used to doing the same thing the same way all the time that's when I get dangerous. I suspect that's what happened in Hayden and why some 2 year old no longer has a mommy.
Folks, if you're going to carry a firearm then you need to pay attention to the basics. It's how you protect others and yourself from tragedy caused by complacency. I'd like to use this thread to clarify and discuss the basics of daily carry and I'd like to hear, primarily, from those who do carry every day. I'd also like those who don't carry to ask questions so that we can address your concerns.
For starters, when you carry you need to be in control of your weapon. That means you don't hand it to someone else or leave it on the toilet tank. You don't just dump it into your purse or your pocket. You keep that weapon in such a manner that you KNOW it's safe, secure and under your immediate control. The specifics of how you do that are often dependent on exactly what kind of weapon you're carrying but one of the basics is your holster. USE ONE!!
Simply stuffing a pistol in your waistband or purse might look cool in the movies but it's stupid. Even a decent level I holster will provide more security than your waistband. As a minimum it should be enough to cover the trigger guard so that nothing can get stuck in there accidentally. It should also be made for the firearm you're using it with so that everything fits and stays secure.
One other thing, once your weapon is in its holster and under your control DON'T **** WITH IT! There is no need to play pocket pool with your pistol. The pistol doesn't care and isn't going to feel neglected. Leave it alone unless you absolutely need to use it. If you have to take it off for some reason (entering an area where firearms are prohibited, for example) then take it off pistol and holster together. This is a good reason for those who carry IWB to use clip on holsters.
This is just one suggestion. Please feel free to add more.
I don't understand not having the safety on when a gun is in the purse. ESPECIALLY with kids around. So many stories of guns getting dropped and firing, much less the many things that can go wrong with kids.
On comments on the article on one site, several posters said not all guns have safeties. But if you are a parent - especially with young kids - how could you buy a gun without a safety?
I feel very sorry for this family. And the op is right- it was so easily preventable.
I suppose there are lots of parents carrying guns, shopping in WalMart, whose kids never fire their guns. But please - take all precautions when carrying such dangerous items.
Although I prefer having manual safeties on my guns I agree that its debatable as to its effectiveness. I think the more important aspect is whether you chamber a round in a semi-auto or not. Personally I think if youre not a cop there's no reason to do so if you want to be really safe, especially if you have small kids.Mechanical safeties are an academic discussion. Guns don't have them anymore because they do little to improve safety and take time to take off under stress when you need your gun.
As far as guns firing when dropped, all modern handguns have internal safeties that keep the firing pin away from the cartridge until the trigger is pulled, modern handguns, like post 1965, should not just go off from being dropped
Although I prefer having manual safeties on my guns I agree that its debatable as to its effectiveness. I think the more important aspect is whether you chamber a round in a semi-auto or not. Personally I think if youre not a cop there's no reason to do so if you want to be really safe, especially if you have small kids.
This article has the most ridiculous quote I've ever read:
"She was not the least bit irresponsible. She was taken much too soon."
Leaving a loaded weapon in easy reach of a child isn't irresponsible? Wow. Is that what they would have said if the child shot one of his cousin's - that the mother wasn't being an absolute moron for letting the situation unfold?
Darwin Award. Good thing it wasn't one of the kids. Apparently it was just waiting to happen.
Of course it wasn't responsible, you gonna go say that in person to the family?This article has the most ridiculous quote I've ever read:
"She was not the least bit irresponsible. She was taken much too soon."
Leaving a loaded weapon in easy reach of a child isn't irresponsible? Wow. Is that what they would have said if the child shot one of his cousin's - that the mother wasn't being an absolute moron for letting the situation unfold?
Darwin Award. Good thing it wasn't one of the kids. Apparently it was just waiting to happen.
Although I prefer having manual safeties on my guns I agree that its debatable as to its effectiveness. I think the more important aspect is whether you chamber a round in a semi-auto or not. Personally I think if youre not a cop there's no reason to do so if you want to be really safe, especially if you have small kids.
Of course it wasn't responsible, you gonna go say that in person to the family?
They're grieving ok, that's why things like that are said, respect for the dead and all
I carry revolvers, so I stay out of the chambered v empty debate
Well I would never carry a gun without a transfer bar or fire pin block safety, my revolvers are all modern double action, I carry all chambers loaded, I have no qualms about doing so.old six shooters were always carried with an empty chamber under the hammer. it didn't slow down your shot and it was a safety act because the old SAs could shoot if the hammer was hit
I carry a SA SIG 9mm with the chamber empty and I practice weekly drawing it and racking the slide as I shoot. its still under 1.5 seconds to draw and shoot from an IWB Stoner (Turtle endorsed-a local maker) holster
This article has the most ridiculous quote I've ever read:
"She was not the least bit irresponsible. She was taken much too soon."
Leaving a loaded weapon in easy reach of a child isn't irresponsible? Wow. Is that what they would have said if the child shot one of his cousin's - that the mother wasn't being an absolute moron for letting the situation unfold?
Darwin Award. Good thing it wasn't one of the kids. Apparently it was just waiting to happen.
I'm sorry but I don't see here death as inevitable. She bought the NRA kool-aid and is dead for it. I'm sure she actually believed that her gun could never hurt her only make her safer. That is what the NRA is selling..peace of mind. It doesn't include any of the "ugly" side of gun ownership and neither do gun dealers. Like that fact that your own gun is 10 times more likely to kill you or a loved one than a bad guy. If she had known the risks she would probably be alive today...a lot of people would. Guns are not for everyone, and selling them like appliances is criminal negligence.
Of course you WOULD come in to dance in the blood of a dead woman to further your own ideological hatred. The fact that you know nothing about the woman or her belief system but have no problem assigning your own personal bias and hatred to her speaks volumes of you.I'm sorry but I don't see here death as inevitable. She bought the NRA kool-aid and is dead for it. I'm sure she actually believed that her gun could never hurt her only make her safer. That is what the NRA is selling..peace of mind. It doesn't include any of the "ugly" side of gun ownership and neither do gun dealers. Like that fact that your own gun is 10 times more likely to kill you or a loved one than a bad guy. If she had known the risks she would probably be alive today...a lot of people would. Guns are not for everyone, and selling them like appliances is criminal negligence.
Hopefully this story will cause every person that chooses to carry a firearm to assess and reassess their procedures and tighten up.Really really sad. Say in an alternate universe, where this lady was more responsible..or perhaps didn't have the gun, she would be alive
It's always someone else, until it isn't. :/
The gun was in her purse, not her pocket.Toddler shoots and kills mother in Hayden Walmart
This is just a horribly tragic story and the reason it's so tragic is because it was so preventable.
I'm the VP of the local chapter of an organization that provides professional education for those in my career field. Every month our board meets to discuss the topics that we'll be covering in our seminars and inevitably we have a lot of interest in new topics and exciting topics and flashy topics. Hey, those topics put asses in the seats and that's part of our job. But there is another part of our job and that's to make sure that those who are member of our organization or attend our events are performing at the highest professional standards they can and in order to achieve that standard we also need to constantly reinforce the basics.
I'm a tax and accounting guy. I can run through your financial data faster than you can run a comb through your hair and can not only spot an anomaly from a mile away but can usually tell you why it's out of whack half an hour before I hit my billing minimum. That being said, I'm also human and when I get too used to doing the same thing the same way all the time that's when I get dangerous. I suspect that's what happened in Hayden and why some 2 year old no longer has a mommy.
Folks, if you're going to carry a firearm then you need to pay attention to the basics. It's how you protect others and yourself from tragedy caused by complacency. I'd like to use this thread to clarify and discuss the basics of daily carry and I'd like to hear, primarily, from those who do carry every day. I'd also like those who don't carry to ask questions so that we can address your concerns.
For starters, when you carry you need to be in control of your weapon. That means you don't hand it to someone else or leave it on the toilet tank. You don't just dump it into your purse or your pocket. You keep that weapon in such a manner that you KNOW it's safe, secure and under your immediate control. The specifics of how you do that are often dependent on exactly what kind of weapon you're carrying but one of the basics is your holster. USE ONE!!
Simply stuffing a pistol in your waistband or purse might look cool in the movies but it's stupid. Even a decent level I holster will provide more security than your waistband. As a minimum it should be enough to cover the trigger guard so that nothing can get stuck in there accidentally. It should also be made for the firearm you're using it with so that everything fits and stays secure.
One other thing, once your weapon is in its holster and under your control DON'T **** WITH IT! There is no need to play pocket pool with your pistol. The pistol doesn't care and isn't going to feel neglected. Leave it alone unless you absolutely need to use it. If you have to take it off for some reason (entering an area where firearms are prohibited, for example) then take it off pistol and holster together. This is a good reason for those who carry IWB to use clip on holsters.
This is just one suggestion. Please feel free to add more.
Not all handguns have a manual safety.I don't understand not having the safety on when a gun is in the purse.
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