Posted On: November 2, 2007, 1:10 pm CDT

Posted By: Kent

A 'required' gun safety course may have prevented this accident.
I've been an agent in the Oak Cliff/Duncanville section of Dallas, Texas for 28 years and have always kept several guns in my office - all within easy/quick access. I've also been an NRA certified instructor for about 15 years (went thru the course when my son was in Boy Scouts). The instructor's course took months of study and weekly meetings. From first to last the main topic was safety - what to do and what not to do with a gun. Although I already knew much of this information from being in the Army, it was a good refresher.
It is often not what a person did with a gun that causes an accidental discharge but, rather what they failed to do. I feel that any company that doesn't want guns on their premises should have a written policy stating so and require the employees to sign it. If the company will allow guns on their premises then, they should require those employees to complete a firearms training course and get certified. Gun certification courses focus on safety - not marksmanship. If an innocent bystander had been injured or killed I am sure all of these remarks would have a much different tone to them.