Gun Safety 101
A father shows his son how to use a gun
“You’ll shoot your eye out, kid!” Those fabled words will continue to echo throughout eternity in the minds of us red-blooded, gun appreciating, forward-thinking, safety-conscious folk.
As we all know, losing an eye (or worse!) is entirely a possibility when it comes to handling firearms. Unless, of course, we’re abiding by the standard and always present golden rules of firearm safety.
It’s a given that we humans will inevitably make mistakes. In fact, it’s one of the most common traits about us.
We’re less instinctual when it comes to external survival and lean more on our temporal values. This leads to attempts at utilizing our feeble minds to guide every step of our own — and others' — lives. In that experience, we find too often that the human element provides so much room for error.
A robot will never point a firearm at anything unless programmed to do so. Neither will a cat, horse, dog, or bird or — well okay, maybe a monkey. We’re still working on coming up with the best way to prevent the animal kingdom from turning on us, but as they say “monkey see, monkey do.”
Anyway, the inherent dangers that guns pose mean we need to ensure we are aware of and understand a very clear and unmistakable set of Gun Safety 101 rules when holding, operating, or otherwise interacting with a firearm.
Why gun safety matters
Before we get to the rules let’s consider a brief anecdote to emphasize the absolutes with respect to gun safety.
When I was growing up and was still in my young teens I recall very distinctly my close friend missing a couple of basketball practices. It was a little weird because he was one of my best friends at the time, and we were always the first ones in and the last ones out. We knew how to work hard and how to play hard.
This is on the cusp of cell phones so the communication was much more limited outside of getting together in person. When I saw him again he told me his cousin had died after being shot by his younger brother. His cousin who had died was 13 and the little brother that shot him was 11.
It was hard for me or the other players on the team to understand at the time. We didn’t have the knowledge or experience to draw from regarding how something like that could happen.
Looking back I realize there were many more rules that were broken than the three fundamental gun safety rules we’re going to review. The incident included several other mandatory guidelines, like:
Storage safety.
Gun safety for kids.
Never trust your trigger safety.
All of these (and a handful of other rules) were breached in that incident. The result was the loss of life and a lifetime of trauma for the brother who made the mistake.
You can hurt someone, or, worse yet, you can kill someone when you don’t follow the rules. We bear the burden of responsibility squarely on our shoulders when we pick up a firearm.
Take that seriously.
Enjoy the freedom of America and the freedom to bear arms granted by the 2nd amendment of our noble constitution. Don’t take that lightly. Don’t squander the gift of that freedom. Be a role model for the generations to come as we work to rebuild the integrity that has been lost over the last several decades through callous and ignorant thinking in our culture.
Our God-given right to life is the greatest gift, and we must stand together to protect that.
Respect the rules.
Alright. Let’s review the TOP 3 GUN SAFETY 101 rules for handling a firearm in any capacity.
1. The Golden Rule of Gun Safety 101: A gun is ALWAYS loaded
This means the pistol, BB gun, rifle, MG-42 or shotgun has something in it that can and will harm, kill, or destroy if not properly managed.
You must treat the firearm as though it will ALWAYS fire when the trigger is pulled. The gun is an amazing tool with respect to different applications and DEMANDS a full dose of Aretha Franklin R.E.S.P.E.C.T.
2. The Silver Rule of Gun Safety 101: A gun is ALWAYS pointed in a safe direction
This means the muzzle (or front part where the bullet flies out) is controlled and pointed in a direction we have commonly agreed is safe. The ground is the most common option.
Clarifying further, you, as a human, must know where the gun is pointing at all times and must maintain complete control.
Even though we started with a Santa Claus reference telling us we may lose an eye if we own a gun, there are ways to stay on the “Nice” list. Pointing the gun in a safe direction is one of those ways.
3. The Bronze Rule of Gun Safety 101: Your finger is NEVER on the trigger until ready to fire
Don’t linger with your finger.
Ensure your trigger finger is following the specific rule as noted above. Do not place your pointer finger (or whichever finger you have remaining if you already had a firearm accident from not obeying the rules the first time around) on the trigger until you are prepared to fire the gun.
As noted by rule number 2, this would include having the firearm pointed in a safe direction where you intend to shoot.
Final reflections on gun safety
Something to reflect on in relation to our Gold to Bronze rules …all of these are on the podium. All of these are the winners and are at the forefront of the most talented, guided, smart, powerful, thought processes that have ever existed.
You CANNOT take any one of them lightly and you must acknowledge the victory over failure that they have achieved.
We cannot stress enough the importance of obeying these fundamental rules. Purely to observe the sanctity of life and for all of us to remain whole, we must respect these laws.
Some of the saddest stories we read in the news revolve around firearm carelessness or, more accurately, callousness. Children dying from a stray bullet, guns being used in school shootings, moms or dads being killed, friends killing friends. This isn’t who we are or what we want to represent.
Let’s be the frontline of change and ensure we’re doing our part to align with firearm respect and safety.
Let’s not leave this on a heavy note. We’ve mentioned accidental shootings and people dying at the mercy of a firearm and we recognize that these tools are built around violence.
Keep in mind that violence is part of our human concept. We were born in death and live today in life. It’s our jobs to take that freedom of life and share it with others so that they too may live in the freedom of safe gun ownership.
The problem is firearm ignorance.
Let’s all work together to get educated and stay sharp when it comes to handling firearms and firearm safety. Weapons of all sorts are not a topic to take lightly, and when it comes to firearms, in particular, it’s not a topic to take for granted.
What are your experiences with firearms? Who did you have in your life that showed you “the way” when it came to using a gun? Did you have the unique privilege of a grandparent guiding you to knock the cans off the rail or cutting out that bullseye?! We want to hear about it!
Shoot us an email or drop us a comment on Facebook. We care about our readers and we care about your stories. Everyone has something to share and it needs to be heard.