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KD5NRH wrote:

Embalmo wrote:I wonder if there is going to be any investigations, or policy changes at Red's.

Maybe if they'd just put the "no shooting yourself anywhere on the property, intentionally or otherwise" policy in writing instead of assuming it was understood...

Yeah, but then only criminals would shoot themselves ....

OH WAIT, maybe that IS a good idea.

Keith B wrote:OK folks, enough comments on the off-color remarks. Please use some decorum when posting on these types of events. Loss of life is a sad thing, but proper and productive discussion and being able to learn from their mistakes is very crucial to gun safety.

Thank you for stating this better than I did on either of my attempts.

This is why IANAM and you are.

03Lightningrocks wrote:I was just practicing my Google Foo and searching for updates on this accident. I happened across a link on Google that brought me straight to this thread. It was in the top four or five links on the page. One does not have to be a member here to come across this thread.

Sounds like your Google Foo is working more like a boomerang. Might need to get it checked out. It's supposed to go search the Internets and bring back new and interesting information, not return to you with nothing and say "you're sitting on the information you requested".

I'm sure there's some ancient Eastern proverb or fortune cookie that explains this all better than I can.

03Lightningrocks wrote:

TLynnHughes wrote: With 6000 members here, I'm always concerned that the "victim" of an ND has close friends or relatives that read the forum.

T.

That is a good point. To be honest, I had not considered that angle. Maybe TAM's comment may not be funny after all. With that in mind, any post on this thread condemning bad gun handling might be hurtful to the survivors.

And on the other other hand, any post condemning bad gun handling can be lifesaving to those who learn from it.

I think we all get the point that it's not nice to make fun of the dead, and no one here wants to trivialize or in any way add to the anguish of the deceaseds surviving relatives.

But if the benefit of some mild joking around is increased awareness of gun safety that may someday save someone else's life, then IMHO that's a valid reason to make such a joke. Of course, jokes made strictly for crude laughs would not fit the above parameters.

03Lightningrocks wrote:

Bob Landry wrote:It's always sad when someone dies needlessly. That said, how many times have we been told to clear a firearm before doing ANYTHING to it. I check every one that I take out of my safe, and I'm the one who put it in there. The saying, "You can't fix stupid" still rings true.

+1 for the Darwin Awards. I will add that anytime someone dies doing something stupid it is sad, but it does not make it any more or less tragic whether it happens while cleaning a loaded gun, text messaging while driving down the freeway at 75 or having a stiff drink for the road. It is when others are innocently killed while a person is engaging in stupid behavior that I get the long face. Thank god this guys laps in proper gun handling technique did not cost an innocent bystander their life. It could have just as easily been a story of some fellow on the range catching this guys stray bullet. A split second in lapse of judgment can be life altering.

Very well said.

Bob Landry wrote:It's always sad when someone dies needlessly. That said, how many times have we been told to clear a firearm before doing ANYTHING to it. I check every one that I take out of my safe, and I'm the one who put it in there. The saying, "You can't fix stupid" still rings true.

100%

As for poor taste of above-referenced one-liner and responses, my personal opinion is that it is generally in poor taste to make fun of the dead or of someone dying. No matter the reasons or surrounding actions, anyone's untimely death is a tragedy. That said, however, when someone kills themself (accidentally or intentionally) in such a way, a bit of dark humor is bound to come from it. You need look no further than the Darwin Awards for proof of that. As this is a gun forum that preaches (rightfully so) the Four Rules, and as this person apparently either intentionally or negligently did not follow those four rules, a bit of ridicule at his expense, while at first seemingly improper, is a worthwhile (though understandably off-putting to some) method of emphasizing the absolute strictest importance of following the four rules.

So, the above is a long way of me saying, neither side is 100% right nor 100% wrong regarding the one-liner. But let's keep it civil, try to understand both side's well-intentioned viewpoints, and move on.

Just my $0.02 YMMV IANAM (I am not a moderator) <------ HA! I invented a NEW ACRONYM for the forum

Well, my distaste for the terminology of "accidental" discharges is well-documented on this forum. But the story says what the story says ...

http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/ ... hoots.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Man accidentally kills himself at shooting range, official says
By Claire Osborn | Tuesday, March 2, 2010, 07:26 PM

An Austin man died today while cleaning his gun inside his car in the parking lot of a Pflugerville shooting range, said Jim McLean, assistant Pflugerville police chief.

The man, who was not identified because his relatives had not been notified, had left Red’s Shooting Range at 1908 Pecan Street West in Pflugerville around 1 p.m. after shooting his gun at the range, McLean said.

There were no witnesses to the shooting, he said. Police were notified when someone discovered the man’s body inside his car about 4:40 p.m., McLean said.

Detectives found a gun cleaning kit on the front seat of the man’s car, McLean said.

The car was not running but the vehicle’s doors were closed when the accident happened, the assistant police chief said.

“This is just a terrible tragedy,” McLean said.