Debate Magazine

Accidental Shooting of Florida Pawn Shop Employee - No Charges

Posted on the 05 April 2012 by Mikeb302000
UPI reports
Police in Florida said a pawn shop worker was accidentally shot in the buttocks by another employee who was putting a gun into a display case.
The Margate Police Department said a worker at David Bari's Pawn Shop on State Road 7 left his semiautomatic Glock .40 caliber handgun on a counter when he stepped out around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday and another employee mistook it for a store item and attempted to place it into a display case, The Miami Herald reported Wednesday.
Police said the incident is being investigated but the preliminary investigation indicates the shooting was accidental.
Remember, "accidental" is a code word for "negligent."
There are several reports like this in the news every day, and you know what that means? It means there are hundreds that happen each day, day in and day out, only the most dramatic of which make the news. With very few exceptions, these incidents of negligence are committed by people familiar with guns, usually gun owners with enough experience with firearms that they should know better, at least that's what you'd think.
The facts are, however, that far too many gun owners are reckless, clumsy, stupid or otherwise unfit to responsibly own and use guns. The gun-rights advocates continually try to overlook that fact and pretend that "gun owners are responsible."
What's your opinion? Would better screening and training requirements help to improve the skills of these less-safe characters? Would it perhaps identify and disqualify some of the worst cases? Of course it would.
Pro-gun guys call that "punishing the vast majority" because of the few bad apples. What do you think of that? I really don't think better screening and training requirements is a "punishment." At worst it would be a minor inconvenience. How self-centered can one be to resist something like this which would do so much good?
Please leave a comment.

Back to Featured Articles on Logo Paperblog