← Back to context

Comment by Ensorceled

6 years ago

Guns almost never go off unintentionally. Yes, people think the gun is unloaded, or toddlers are playing with the gun, or the person with the gun is being unsafe. But the vast majority of the time, somebody pulled the trigger. They are not accidents.

Since they were "line hunting", pretty much every hunter thought Cheney should have been charged with something. In Canada, he definitely would have been charged with unsafe usage of a firearm.

5 comments

Ensorceled

Reply
Retric  6 years ago

That’s something of a no true Scotsman argument, if someone did not intentionally fire it’s accidental.

There are ~500 accidental gun deaths in the US per year and vastly more accidental firings.

If you ever take a gun course a lot of effort is placed on getting people to never point a gun at something they are unwilling to shoot because of accidental firings. Trigger safety is similar emphasized because of how much it reduces accidental firings.

  • Ensorceled  6 years ago

    No, I'm saying that "unintentionally" is being used in the "accidently" sense when it should be used in the "negligently" sense.

    500 accidental gun deaths are almost all negligence and should result in criminal charges. But, in actuality, many are suicides.

    • cortesoft  6 years ago

      You could say the same about car accidents... it is rarely a mechanical failure, it is usually a driver not paying attention or doing something wrong.

      Why does it matter, though? Whether it is negligent or accidental, it is out of my control and has a chance to happen. Whether I accidentally or negligently get shot by a cop, I am just as dead.

      1 reply →