Hey there An American.
I am confused by your comment… you say that the equation here includes a lack of “proper safety precautions.” but then you say that its not the gun manufaturers fault the 3 year old had the gun… I agree with both points, and conclude that if the gun had been manufactured with the proper safety precautions the three year old might not have been able to fire the gun.
It is possible that the three year old might not have been able to fire the handgun if it had a mechanical safety. It is certain that the three year old would not have shot his father had his father properly secured his firearm. Wisdom demands that if you are going to have firearms in your house, they should be stored so as not to be fired accidentaly. I can’t assign liability to the manufacturer. The officer should have known better.
Sorry! Should have been more clear on that point – safety precautions by the gun owner. All of my firearms have locks on them and the ammunition is all stored in a separate, locked location. I could never forgive myself if one of my kids or their friends were hurt or killed if there were something I could have done to prevent it.
Police officer guns are designed that way intentionally. This a$$ failed to secure his own weapon and wants to win the lawsuit lottery. His own failure caused this, not the manufacturer.
I did not realize that police guns were made without safety’s. If that is indeed true, its silly. All weapons should have a safety mode. I think its wrong for “P/L Underwriter” to call the victim an “a$$” Comments like that do not help further a respectful conversation. He may or may not have fault, but name calling serves no useful purpose. The man was a police officer, to many I bet he is a hero.
Could this firearm be manufactured with better safety precautions…YES certainly… Is it the manufacturers responsibility to make certain that safe practices are maintained in the home of every individual who purchases their product, HELL NO! Is this a tragic event, yes. Is the manufacturer responsible for it occurring, NO! Sorry officer but you too bear the burden of responsibility here!
Could or can this weapon be more safely manufactured, YES certainly. Is it the manufacturers responsibility to ensure that safety practices are maintained in the homes of everyone who purchases their product, of course not! Is this a tragic event, absolutely! Is the manufacturer responsible for it occurring, no I see no way this can be so.
Sorry officer but you have to take responsibility for your own part in this. If your weapon was properly secured in your home this tragedy does not occur…
While I agree weapons should safety mode and that the officer should have stowed the gun, education is a key component. One thing we need to think of is that an office needs to pull and use the weapon quickly, a safety could cause him his life.
I have a friend who is an officer and he has taught his children NOT to touch guns and to tell an adult if they see on. The FIRST thing he does when he gets home is put his weapon in the gun safe.
Not so sure the mfg should be sued in this instance.
Again, blame someone else for your own negilence. All the police I know lock their weapon up while at home. If I buy a handgun I must have a trigger lock in place.
When the 4 rules of gun safety are followed there CANNOT be an accidental discharge.
1. Treat all guns as if they are loaded all the time.
2. Keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot.
3. Never point your gun at an object you don’t want to distroy.
4. Know your target and your backstop.
Most Police departments know and follow these rules thats one of the reasons they don’t purchase handguns with a grip safety. (There are plenty of weapons that have the grip safety on them.) Even when a safety device is “on” most people treat their weapons as if they are ready to be fired.
Also, did you know that this police officer broke the law when he got shot? It is against the law in CA for a child to have access to a gun. The sad reality is the officer let his child have access to his gun and he was shot. Just like there are accidents envoling hammers at construction sites, there will always be accidents with guns. As a society we don’t need to blame guns themselves, we need to take responsibility for our actions and make sure that we are properly educated.
“As a society we don’t need to blame guns themselves, we need to take responsibility for our actions and make sure that we are properly educated.”
Very well said CA!!! I agree a 100%
I also believe we need to take responsibility for ALL of our actions and quit making everything someone else’s fault…
The Glock has a trigger safety so that the weapon doesn’t fire unless someone pulls the trigger. The amount of strength necessary to pull the trigger while holding the weapon by the grip would have disengaged any “thumb-strap” safety as suggested should have been installed. For the child to have pulled the trigger and a round go off, the weapon must have been “hot”; a round had already been chambered, which means someone strong enough to work the slide did that. Most likely, that was the officer (assuming the three year old doesn’t know how to work the slide and doesn’t know what that does if he can). Which means that in addition to allowing his son access to the weapon, he also violated the cardinal rule of leaving the weapon unattended while loaded. Which the owner’s manual tells you not to do.
As a gun owner for over 25 years, I am so tired of those who place blame where it does not belong. When my children were very young, I showed them an NRA film on gun safety, allowed them to touch my weapon(obviously unloaded and clip removed)to alleviate that immediate curiosity and kept all my guns locked in a safe. The officer should take responsibility for his own negligence period. Blame some one else is rapidly becoming the culture in this country and it is pathetic.
Here’s a basic formula for all gun owners to memorize:
guns + kids = tragedy
You’re missing a few vital parts of the equation
guns + kids – proper safety precautions – common sense = tragedy
It’s not the gun manufacturer’s fault that an adult allowed a 3 year old child access to a gun!
Let’s make this more apt and appropriate:
Irresponsible gun owners + kids = tragedy.
Millions of kids are raised in responsible legal gun-owning households with ne’er an accident.
Of course, it’s the ridiculously small minority of irresponsible owners who make the headlines…
There’s another valid equation:
Gun-makers-who-only-care-about-profits + NRA = tragedy
That’s incredibly ignorant and unfounded.
Hey there An American.
I am confused by your comment… you say that the equation here includes a lack of “proper safety precautions.” but then you say that its not the gun manufaturers fault the 3 year old had the gun… I agree with both points, and conclude that if the gun had been manufactured with the proper safety precautions the three year old might not have been able to fire the gun.
It is possible that the three year old might not have been able to fire the handgun if it had a mechanical safety. It is certain that the three year old would not have shot his father had his father properly secured his firearm. Wisdom demands that if you are going to have firearms in your house, they should be stored so as not to be fired accidentaly. I can’t assign liability to the manufacturer. The officer should have known better.
Sorry! Should have been more clear on that point – safety precautions by the gun owner. All of my firearms have locks on them and the ammunition is all stored in a separate, locked location. I could never forgive myself if one of my kids or their friends were hurt or killed if there were something I could have done to prevent it.
Police officer guns are designed that way intentionally. This a$$ failed to secure his own weapon and wants to win the lawsuit lottery. His own failure caused this, not the manufacturer.
I did not realize that police guns were made without safety’s. If that is indeed true, its silly. All weapons should have a safety mode. I think its wrong for “P/L Underwriter” to call the victim an “a$$” Comments like that do not help further a respectful conversation. He may or may not have fault, but name calling serves no useful purpose. The man was a police officer, to many I bet he is a hero.
Could this firearm be manufactured with better safety precautions…YES certainly… Is it the manufacturers responsibility to make certain that safe practices are maintained in the home of every individual who purchases their product, HELL NO! Is this a tragic event, yes. Is the manufacturer responsible for it occurring, NO! Sorry officer but you too bear the burden of responsibility here!
Could or can this weapon be more safely manufactured, YES certainly. Is it the manufacturers responsibility to ensure that safety practices are maintained in the homes of everyone who purchases their product, of course not! Is this a tragic event, absolutely! Is the manufacturer responsible for it occurring, no I see no way this can be so.
Sorry officer but you have to take responsibility for your own part in this. If your weapon was properly secured in your home this tragedy does not occur…
While I agree weapons should safety mode and that the officer should have stowed the gun, education is a key component. One thing we need to think of is that an office needs to pull and use the weapon quickly, a safety could cause him his life.
I have a friend who is an officer and he has taught his children NOT to touch guns and to tell an adult if they see on. The FIRST thing he does when he gets home is put his weapon in the gun safe.
Not so sure the mfg should be sued in this instance.
The officer was shot by his own weapon by his child?
I’m sorry, but the officer is at fault for this, not the manufacturer.
A responsible gun owner always keeps his weapon out of the hands of a child.
The police officer should have known that. It should have been drilled into his head during his Academy training.
Again, blame someone else for your own negilence. All the police I know lock their weapon up while at home. If I buy a handgun I must have a trigger lock in place.
When the 4 rules of gun safety are followed there CANNOT be an accidental discharge.
1. Treat all guns as if they are loaded all the time.
2. Keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot.
3. Never point your gun at an object you don’t want to distroy.
4. Know your target and your backstop.
Most Police departments know and follow these rules thats one of the reasons they don’t purchase handguns with a grip safety. (There are plenty of weapons that have the grip safety on them.) Even when a safety device is “on” most people treat their weapons as if they are ready to be fired.
Also, did you know that this police officer broke the law when he got shot? It is against the law in CA for a child to have access to a gun. The sad reality is the officer let his child have access to his gun and he was shot. Just like there are accidents envoling hammers at construction sites, there will always be accidents with guns. As a society we don’t need to blame guns themselves, we need to take responsibility for our actions and make sure that we are properly educated.
“As a society we don’t need to blame guns themselves, we need to take responsibility for our actions and make sure that we are properly educated.”
Very well said CA!!! I agree a 100%
I also believe we need to take responsibility for ALL of our actions and quit making everything someone else’s fault…
The Glock has a trigger safety so that the weapon doesn’t fire unless someone pulls the trigger. The amount of strength necessary to pull the trigger while holding the weapon by the grip would have disengaged any “thumb-strap” safety as suggested should have been installed. For the child to have pulled the trigger and a round go off, the weapon must have been “hot”; a round had already been chambered, which means someone strong enough to work the slide did that. Most likely, that was the officer (assuming the three year old doesn’t know how to work the slide and doesn’t know what that does if he can). Which means that in addition to allowing his son access to the weapon, he also violated the cardinal rule of leaving the weapon unattended while loaded. Which the owner’s manual tells you not to do.
As a gun owner for over 25 years, I am so tired of those who place blame where it does not belong. When my children were very young, I showed them an NRA film on gun safety, allowed them to touch my weapon(obviously unloaded and clip removed)to alleviate that immediate curiosity and kept all my guns locked in a safe. The officer should take responsibility for his own negligence period. Blame some one else is rapidly becoming the culture in this country and it is pathetic.