TexasCHLforum.com

I want to start this post by stating that I mean no offense to any LEO / ex-LEO or military / ex-military person when I say what follows. I hold most of these folks in the highest esteem. That said, this instance and others like it -- and the many instances I have seen at gun stores and gun shows of poor / unsafe gun handling by people I know to be in these groups -- lead me to the inevitable conclusion that being an LEO or in the military does not necessarily qualify you to personify, much less teach, gun handling and gun safety. I understand that we only hear of these folks in the context of teaching in a grade school environment for legal reasons, but I don't believe those legal reasons have a sound basis in facts or follow what I would consider to be "good" law in that they serve society well. For what it is worth, folks outside these groups are not typically either better or worse.

I have seen too many cases of people that I otherwise respect and admire who cannot seem to keep from muzzling others or having their fingers on the trigger when it shouldn't be -- and these people should simply not be involved in teaching gun handling and safety. If you are going to put yourself out there as a teacher, please ingrain the habits that help you personify the lessons so that what is learned by your students is what you meant to teach.

There is a reason that NRA classes have a "no live ammo in the room" policy for non-live-fire instruction. Clearly this officer did not follow that protocol. A negligent discharge during a non-shooting safety instruction runs absolutely counter to and negates anything useful he was trying to teach. There are a number of ways to illustrate firearms functioning and handling that do not involve the risk of a negligent discharge in a classroom.