Gun Safety

February 2, 2009 6:04 PM

A newlywed blogger makes a post about her recent firearm outings. Three days later she is accidentally shot by her husband while cleaning a shotgun, not realizing the gun still held one shell. She died on Sunday.

The Cardinal Rules of Gun Safety:
Rule # 1: All Guns Are Always Loaded
Rule # 2: Never let your muzzle cover anything that you are not willing to kill.
Rule # 3: Keep your finger off the trigger & out of the trigger guard always.
Rule # 4: Be sure of your target and what's beyond it.

posted by Liver (145 comments total)

Ok, this is terrible.
posted by josher71 at 6:05 PM on February 2, 2009

God damn shame.
posted by tylerfulltilt at 6:06 PM on February 2, 2009

My main rule of gun safety, is that either the gun is in your hands actively being pointed at the target or ground with the firer ALERT, or the magazine is ejected and the slide or bolt locked back and the chamber visibly empty. There are some special conditions relating to jams or misfires, but I always figured if you can come up with a one sentence rule of firearm safety you'll have a harder time screwing it up.
posted by BrotherCaine at 6:12 PM on February 2, 2009

Oooooopsies.
posted by sharksandwich at 6:12 PM on February 2, 2009

Tragic story and a total bummer.
posted by mathowie at 6:14 PM on February 2, 2009

SO horrible and tragic. Americans and their morbid fascination with guns - I don't get it.

"Hey honey, let's buy some toys that are designed to KILL PEOPLE and play with them like giddy school-children. What could possibly go wrong?"
posted by weezy at 6:16 PM on February 2, 2009 [5 favorites]

Remember: Guns don't kill people. People kill people.

And the fact that they were teaching children that it was ever ok to point a gun at other people is a "God damn shame".

Maybe it's the mood I'm in, but I'm not feeling much sympathy here.
posted by Picklegnome at 6:16 PM on February 2, 2009

yeah, their pictures (the Rule #2 link above) on their blog show various people pointing guns at the camera and I assume these pictures weren't taken via remote.

If this were fark (and I had an account there) I'd post a picture of Darwin.

I don't have too much of a problem with stupidity causing its own problems, though I do think government has a role in mitigating the costs as much as practicable (eg. seatbelt laws). In this case gun ownership licensing course seem to make the most sense to me (excluding 18th-century antique pistols, carbines, muskets and rifles to satisfy the gun nut absolutists).
posted by troy at 6:16 PM on February 2, 2009

The family that shoots together, um, I forget the rest.
posted by unSane at 6:16 PM on February 2, 2009

That is horrible.
posted by starfyr at 6:17 PM on February 2, 2009

Anyone who points a gun at the camera while having their picture taken does not understand gun safety.
posted by ooga_booga at 6:17 PM on February 2, 2009 [18 favorites]

Just to clarify: Yes, it's a tragedy. But this seems really, really, REALLY foreseeable.
posted by Picklegnome at 6:18 PM on February 2, 2009 [2 favorites]

Is it customary to purchase a handgun and shotgun after a marriage in some parts? Or did he not have guns yet...?

And a planned armed strategy for intruders? It doesn't look like they live in a high crime area, were they producing drugs?

It seems like one wouldn't need to clean their arms if they weren't frequently used for ???
posted by Matt Oneiros at 6:18 PM on February 2, 2009

In the photos from the recent firearm outings link they are pointing guns at each other. This is the caption:

Watch out! (Uncle Doug was the brave one to take this picture! We triple checked to make sure ALL of the guns were unloaded! lol!)
posted by R. Mutt at 6:18 PM on February 2, 2009

This is tragic.
posted by arcticwoman at 6:19 PM on February 2, 2009

Josh Beasley, who completed a gun safety course last week, was cleaning his shotgun Saturday night at their home at 6230 N.W. Second Circle, not realizing the gun still held one shell.

Extra helping of tragic.
posted by BrotherCaine at 6:19 PM on February 2, 2009

Sadly, Liver, there's one thing wrong with your post. Rule #1 is actually Rules #1-100. You just can't repeat that enough.

Anyone who points a gun at the camera while having their picture taken does not understand gun safety.

Yep. Sad she had to pay the price with her life.
posted by middleclasstool at 6:21 PM on February 2, 2009 [1 favorite]

Makes me wonder if this experience will detract the appeal of guns for that family... somehow I doubt it.
posted by lizbunny at 6:22 PM on February 2, 2009

There's a cavalier attitude towards safety in the pictures and the blog entries. Even the hardest firearm advocates would see the pictures and say that this is more of an abject lesson than it is a terrible tragedy. This whole situation could have been avoided by following some simple rules and common sense but no. I can only surmise that the absolute lack of muzzle discipline is the reason why that shotgun was pointing in the wife's direction while the guy was cleaning it. And he's the one who was supposed to have taken a gun safety class just the week prior.

Morons.

Guns are tools. They're also weapons. And they're lethal. They aren't toys and until you understand that you shouldn't own one.
posted by ooga_booga at 6:24 PM on February 2, 2009 [3 favorites]

Nthing everyone else who said it, but when I saw the photos on this page, I wasn't surprised she got shot. Guns aren't toys. I was taught gun safety at a young age -- and along the way, learned something about shooting too, but the safety was the primary point -- by my military father, and he drilled it into me that a gun is never to be pointed at something you're not prepared to kill. Pointing them at people holding cameras? Pretending to point guns (holding fingers in the shape of a gun) at others' heads while they point guns at people holding camera? Posing with guns like Charlie's Angels?

Simply fucking stupid.

License requirements and training, in the vein of automobiles and heavy equipment operation, don't seem entirely off the mark for purchasers of firearms, I'm thinking.
posted by barnacles at 6:24 PM on February 2, 2009 [1 favorite]

Yeah, it's horrible AND stupid.
posted by cogneuro at 6:25 PM on February 2, 2009

Don't get me started on driving licenses.
posted by ooga_booga at 6:26 PM on February 2, 2009 [1 favorite]

I am completely torn by how sad this story is and how absolutely stunned I am at how ridiculously inept that entire family is around firearms. What a hideous event in that man's life.

And those pics of them all playing roundup or whatthehellever make me sick. There are easier ways to gain wisdom than this, folks.
posted by Lipstick Thespian at 6:26 PM on February 2, 2009

Gun nut kills his wife with a gun.

Obese woman dies of diabetes.

Marlboro man dies of lung cancer.

Anonymous internet avatar makes cruel and needless analogies.

Gun nut's wife still dead from shotgun.
posted by plexi at 6:27 PM on February 2, 2009 [1 favorite]

Wow. I've had a bit of experience at a shooting range, but no formal training or safety courses beyond, oh, common sense, and those pictures freaked me out. Forget Rule #1.. I just always keep Rule #2 in mind. If I point a gun anywhere near anything, it's only because I am fully ok with said thing being blown to smitherines.

Looking down the barrels of nerf guns freaks me out, too
posted by niles at 6:29 PM on February 2, 2009 [1 favorite]

Tragic, yes, but the pictures linked in the rules section are kinda morbid and judgmental, implying a level of recklessness that suggests the husband and/or wife are substantially to blame for the wife's untimely death.

Regardless of how culpable they each are or aren't, about 800-900 people in the US die of accidental gunshot wounds each year. Other than the photos on the wedding blog of the events leading up to the accident, what makes this one interesting? And if the photos are what makes it interesting, then is it not just morbid fascination? Judging by the comments thus far, I'd say this is an opportunity to say 'hey look, an idiot got someone killed' and little else.
posted by jedicus at 6:30 PM on February 2, 2009 [4 favorites]

"I've never grown up with guns so Josh was the one to teach me how to use them. I think its great information to have b/c you never know if you'll be in a situation where you have to deal with a gun."

Jesus Christ.
posted by plexi at 6:30 PM on February 2, 2009

why is that guy not locked up?
posted by bhnyc at 6:30 PM on February 2, 2009

.
posted by cashman at 6:30 PM on February 2, 2009

Wow, looking at the pictures these people have terrible gun safety habits. My dad would've chewed my ass three ways from Sunday if I had pointed a gun at anyone like that.

I'm highly curious as to how the gun went off while "cleaning" it. Guns don't shoot themselves, you have to pull the trigger. There's no need to do that while cleaning any gun I've ever owned, bet he was screwing around with it.
posted by TungstenChef at 6:31 PM on February 2, 2009 [1 favorite]

Matt Oneiros: "Is it customary to purchase a handgun and shotgun after a marriage in some parts? Or did he not have guns yet...?

The article makes it pretty clear that he and his family were gun owners before the wedding.

And a planned armed strategy for intruders? It doesn't look like they live in a high crime area, were they producing drugs?

Yeah, it looks like they are in an area where it could take the sheriff a long time to respond to an emergency call. They were taking responsible steps to protect themselves their property and potentially a future family.

It seems like one wouldn't need to clean their arms if they weren't frequently used for ???"

Skeet shooting, as the article points out.
-
Yes, those pictures are ridiculous and show a total lack of responsibility, the discharge during cleaning a gun even more so. The first step in cleaning any gun is to make sure it's unloaded. Safety aside, you simply cannot clean it properly if there is a round in the chamber.

I'm a happy and safe with guns because I stay very paranoid about safety and redundant checks just like my rock climbing friends check their gear.

There are no accidental discharges, only negligent discharges.
posted by Science! at 6:34 PM on February 2, 2009

.
posted by thylacine at 6:35 PM on February 2, 2009

'Shotgun wedding' has taken on a whole new meaning.
posted by ShameSpiral at 6:36 PM on February 2, 2009

I have to nth the "good god they weren't even close to following the rules".

I know this puts me in the mefi pariah club, but I have friends that I like to go off-roading and shooting with, usually (always) while drinking. Impaired judgement or no, guns are NEVER pointed at anything that we don't want to shoot at, and fingers are always off triggers until the proper time.

The area we do that in has plenty of other people doing the same, and if we ever ran into anyone acting like the people in those pictures, we'd pack up and go elsewhere. We've done it for less. I don't think any of us has even had a class, but the rules are Just. So. Easy.

This is really sad, in that horribly head-shakingly avoidable way.
posted by flaterik at 6:36 PM on February 2, 2009

In this case gun ownership licensing course seem to make the most sense to me

In California we have this for handguns - you have to obtain a Handgun Safety Certificate in addition to the background checks, etc. Now, it's kind of a joke, but so is driver licensing. (OK, it's even MORE of a joke than driver licensing -- although you are required also to demonstrate that you know the basic rules for ensuring a gun is unloaded, which would prevent EXACTLY this sort of thing).

However, we don't have it for rifles and shotguns --- which is weird. I mean, there's no registration or anything, which I actually do understand (concealable weapons are their concern), but requiring a safety certificate to legally buy one seems pretty reasonable to me.
posted by wildcrdj at 6:37 PM on February 2, 2009

(and when I say demonstrate, I mean they make you show them you can do it with the exact gun you are purchasing, not some theoretical knowledge, which is the most useful part of the requirement, since the written part is basically stuff like: "True or False: You should leave loaded handguns around children").
posted by wildcrdj at 6:38 PM on February 2, 2009

My husband and son are both gun enthusiasts. (And proficiency with firearms is a job requirement for my son as well.)

This death was highly preventable. You treat guns with respect, and again, as lots of folks upthread have stated YOU NEVER POINT AT ANYTHING YOU DON'T INTEND TO SHOOT AND YOU DON'T SHOOT ANYTHING YOU DON'T INTEND TO KILL.

Period.

This is awful, senseless, and was totally, totally preventable.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 6:38 PM on February 2, 2009 [2 favorites]

"Is it customary to purchase a handgun and shotgun after a marriage in some parts?"

In some parts, it's customary prior to the marriage.
posted by mr_crash_davis mark II: Jazz Odyssey at 6:39 PM on February 2, 2009

Here's a caption from one of the photos:

Josh and I shooting our Glock. The mag holds 15 shots so we would each shoot 5 standing with our backs turned to the target then spinning, aiming and firing as quickly and accurately as possible. :D

(Bolding for emphasis is mine.) What's amazing is how no-one got shot at this "gun outing" rather than at home after the fact. These people were accidents waiting to happen.
posted by ooga_booga at 6:39 PM on February 2, 2009 [4 favorites]

But Moore, Alaina's father, harbored no blame for her husband.
"We don't understand it," he said, "but we know God has a plan."

I don't understand how someone can believe that God intentionally planned for their son-in-law to accidentally shoot and kill their daughter--a daughter he was madly in love with, leaving a family grief-torn and guilt-ridden. I have no idea how it comforts someone to trust in a God who would do that. And, hey, I'm a devout Christian, but the minute someone convinces me that God chose that for Alaina is the minute I start worshipping Satan out of spite. And really, how much worse could Satan be than a God like that?

I'm very sorry for this family. But there are much better ways to let faith help during sorrow than this. I just don't see how this helps.
posted by Pater Aletheias at 6:40 PM on February 2, 2009 [34 favorites]

The mag holds 15 shots so we would each shoot 5 standing with our backs turned to the target then spinning, aiming and firing as quickly and accurately as possible. :D

This (and the running while firing handguns) pisses me off more than these people aiming guns at each other.
posted by Catch at 6:42 PM on February 2, 2009 [2 favorites]

Guns and home school don't mix.
posted by samsaunt at 6:43 PM on February 2, 2009 [5 favorites]

Tragedy.

Never point at what you DON'T plan on killing.

Saftey 1st. Always!
posted by winks007 at 6:45 PM on February 2, 2009

(And this is also why I don't care to stay in the same room with someone cleaning a gun no matter how careful they are.)
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 6:46 PM on February 2, 2009

ooga_booga: "Here's a caption from one of the photos:

Josh and I shooting our Glock. The mag holds 15 shots so we would each shoot 5 standing with our backs turned to the target then spinning, aiming and firing as quickly and accurately as possible. :D

(Bolding for emphasis is mine.) What's amazing is how no-one got shot at this "gun outing" rather than at home after the fact. These people were accidents waiting to happen."

Don't think that all safe shooting involves standing still in a well lit range. Action Shooting is an enormously fun sport, though setting up a haphazard competition yourselves, on snow, with a large group is not a good idea.
posted by Science! at 6:46 PM on February 2, 2009

Anyone who points a gun at the camera while having their picture taken does not understand gun safety.

Anyone who points a camera at the gun while having their shot taken does not understand camera safety.
posted by mannequito at 6:47 PM on February 2, 2009 [3 favorites]

Oh wow, am I the only one who finds the ads for this thread absolutely appalling? We subscription people don't see the ads, but while I was logged out, I saw an ad at the top of the page to play Duck Hunt and at the bottom saw an ad for handguns...

I'm sorry, I have to say it - Metafilter Ad Appropriateness FAIL. ROFL
posted by PigAlien at 6:50 PM on February 2, 2009

Hindsight's always 20 20 gauge
posted by Flashman at 6:50 PM on February 2, 2009

Dude, they're in their early twenties, they're married, they only have associate's degrees, they're throwing GAWDs and JEEBUSes back and forth, and they're gun nuts. This doesn't scream Stupid Redneck Fundie Hick to you?

Tragic in the sense that a person died, but I can't say any more than 'You stupid fucking redneck moron, you killed your wife.'

I fucking hate rednecks.
posted by kldickson at 6:51 PM on February 2, 2009 [2 favorites]

you know... if someone really thought "God has a plan" and didn't judge others actions because of it, well why bother owning guns for self defense? Perhaps it is "God's plan" that you be robbed, and resisting it goes against "God's will"?

America: Where we are all paranoid about second hand smoke, but love our guns.
posted by edgeways at 6:54 PM on February 2, 2009 [2 favorites]

If she had a gun this would never have happened.
posted by Optimus Chyme at 6:55 PM on February 2, 2009 [5 favorites]

negligentdischarge.com offers the grueling details of the saga of a man who let his guard down for just an instant and paid for it, although not with his life.
posted by Rhomboid at 6:55 PM on February 2, 2009 [9 favorites]

I have never handled a gun, but I instantly understood the problem of accidental gun killings the first time I picked up an electric drill (which I thought was unplugged) and it revved up as I pressed the trigger (which I didn't intend to do).

Please hands up if you have ever had that happen to you too.
posted by kandinski at 6:57 PM on February 2, 2009 [1 favorite]

lol + gun safety = fail.
posted by buzzman at 6:58 PM on February 2, 2009 [2 favorites]

"That's when the forgotten shell burst from the pump-action shotgun, flying six feet inside their Lincoln apartment before it hit an unintended target: Alaina."

Chip Olsen, World Herald Staff Writer, should to be flogged with a copy of Strunk & White.
posted by stavrogin at 7:00 PM on February 2, 2009 [1 favorite]

(Uncle Doug was the brave one to take this picture! We triple checked to make sure ALL of the guns were unloaded! lol!)

lol
posted by Optimus Chyme at 7:00 PM on February 2, 2009

They were taking responsible steps to protect themselves their property and potentially a future family.

Practicing "clearing" their home like a TV cop show? Nah, they were just playing with their guns.
posted by troy at 7:01 PM on February 2, 2009 [2 favorites]

Josh and I practice clearing the apartment in case an intruder were to come we have a plan of action in place.

Damn, I don't do this. Perhaps I should as an intruder could come into my apartment at any time.
posted by mattoxic at 7:02 PM on February 2, 2009

PigAlien: Totally appropriate. How, after all, do we come to think guns are fun playthings?
posted by phrontist at 7:03 PM on February 2, 2009

This is sad.

And fuck Americans, you need to stop with all the guns already.
posted by chunking express at 7:04 PM on February 2, 2009 [3 favorites]

Dude, they're in their early twenties, they're married, they only have associate's degrees, they're throwing GAWDs and JEEBUSes back and forth, and they're gun nuts. This doesn't scream Stupid Redneck Fundie Hick to you?

Tragic in the sense that a person died, but I can't say any more than 'You stupid fucking redneck moron, you killed your wife.'

I fucking hate rednecks.

You seem nice.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 7:06 PM on February 2, 2009 [29 favorites]

Americans, you need to stop with all the guns already.

' a well regulated Militia lol, being necessary to the security of a free State lol, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms lol, shall not be infringed :D '
posted by ShameSpiral at 7:12 PM on February 2, 2009 [3 favorites]

And fuck Americans, you need to stop with all the guns already.

Some number of people died today horsing around with their cars, and this year thousands in the will die crashing their motorcycles, which are 20X more lethal (per passenger-mile) than cars.

I believe gun control should be a county and city level thing, and if the rednecks in Nebraska want to have their gun parties, more power to them. That's what being a "free country" is all about.
posted by troy at 7:15 PM on February 2, 2009 [4 favorites]

Rule #1:

Don't own a gun.
posted by washburn at 7:17 PM on February 2, 2009 [3 favorites]

So many mean-spirited comments on this thread about this really terrible and obviously preventable tragedy!

The husband likely already wants to hang himself ten times over. His pain outweighs the casual reader's sympathy. He probably won't be back to picking up a gun anytime soon. He probably won't be okay with guns ever again.
posted by anniecat at 7:17 PM on February 2, 2009

All the gun hate is annoying.
Would this had made a FPP if the husband "accidentally" poisoned her with uncooked pork? Backed over her in his car? moved her somewhere with mercury in the drinking water? Taken her ice skating and she broke her neck? drowned her in a kayaking trip?

There's ALWAYS something that will kill you. One way or the other. I suppose no one here has any dangerous hobbies. Hell, I've known someone who died of a staph infection pricking herself doing needlepoint. Guns are just another thing. Get over yourselves.
posted by Balisong at 7:18 PM on February 2, 2009 [4 favorites]

Remember: Guns don't kill people. People kill people.

also.... fucking idiots with guns kill people


Josh Beasley, who completed a gun safety course last week, was cleaning his shotgun Saturday night at their home at 6230 N.W. Second Circle, not realizing the gun still held one shell.

Refund?
posted by mattoxic at 7:19 PM on February 2, 2009 [5 favorites]

Damn, I don't do this. Perhaps I should as an intruder could come into my apartment at any time.

It is nearly a law of nature that the people who are the most nutty about shit like this (practice clearing the apartment? Really? Do you really play FBI?) are the people who live in the most white bread, low-crime areas imaginable. You show me a place out in the country where everyone goes to the same church, everybody knows everybody's name and business, there's one sheriff taking care of the whole area, and it's a notable event when someone crashes a car, and I'll show you a roomful of people who are VERY VERY CONCERNED about protecting their home against some entirely imaginary gang of rapist thieves. I've lived in and visited dozens of such places.
posted by middleclasstool at 7:20 PM on February 2, 2009 [4 favorites]

Practicing "clearing" their home like a TV cop show? Nah, they were just playing with their guns.

I bet they fucked like little God-fearin', newly-wedded Gun Bunnies after they'd finished playing COPS as well.

"Is that a Glock in your pocket, or are you just pleased to see me?"

"I got 9mm of hot lead in my trousers, and I'm gonna fill you full of it. Now check out this pump action."

Well, at least he won't be getting none of that good old, Jebus-sanctioned coitus any more. And hopefully his late wife has gone to a better place -- one where women are no longer expected to mate with the stupid people.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 7:21 PM on February 2, 2009 [2 favorites]

I'm not sure how I would live with myself if I killed my wife while fooling around with a gun.
posted by maxwelton at 7:24 PM on February 2, 2009

My main rule of gun safety is what the fuck are you doing with a gun anyway and, moreover, what the fuck do you need more than one of them for?

Guns are designed for one thing and one thing only and if you pretend otherwise you are either lying or a fool. Please don't get all self-righteous and more-responsible-than-thou and pretend to be shocked when that one thing actually happens.
posted by turgid dahlia at 7:24 PM on February 2, 2009 [2 favorites]

The husband likely already wants to hang himself ten times over. His pain outweighs the casual reader's sympathy. He probably won't be back to picking up a gun anytime soon. He probably won't be okay with guns ever again.
posted by anniecat at 7:17 PM on February 2

The funniest thing is that to gun people, the last sentence is the saddest part of the whole story.
posted by Optimus Chyme at 7:25 PM on February 2, 2009 [4 favorites]

I'm kind of surprised this page is still up. But man, when you pose for photos with a 9 year old pointing a shotgun at you, I can't say I'm too surprised you get shot (or shoot someone) by accident. What a bunch of fucking idiots.

The other thing that I noticed, these guys don't look like the ignorant rednecks you would expect. They seem to dress like relatively well off people, which makes it more suppressing. Like they should have known better.

I hope this guy goes to jail or involuntary manslaughter. He deserves it. The great thing about our society is that you actually can go to jail for being an idiot if that idiocy gets someone killed.
posted by Paris Hilton at 7:26 PM on February 2, 2009

Practicing "clearing" their home like a TV cop show?

Maybe I watch too many TV detective shows, but this just screams "double indemnity" to me. Just married, huh?
posted by dhartung at 7:26 PM on February 2, 2009

Cruelty is not a virtue.
posted by Scoo at 7:27 PM on February 2, 2009

PeterMcDermott, that is quite possibly the most hateful comment I have ever seen in the history of this website. You must be quite a lot of fun at wakes.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 7:27 PM on February 2, 2009 [3 favorites]

"That's when the forgotten shell burst from the pump-action shotgun, flying six feet inside their Lincoln apartment before it hit an unintended target: Alaina."

Chip Olsen, World Herald Staff Writer, should to be flogged with a copy of Strunk & White.

Strunk & White won't save a reporter who doesn't know what a shotgun shell is.
posted by nicwolff at 7:27 PM on February 2, 2009

With all due respect to him/her, what shocks and confuses me more than anything out of this FPP is what in god's name Liver expected to accomplish with it.
posted by XQUZYPHYR at 7:28 PM on February 2, 2009 [4 favorites]

Would this had made a FPP if the husband "accidentally" poisoned her with uncooked pork? Backed over her in his car? moved her somewhere with mercury in the drinking water? Taken her ice skating and she broke her neck? drowned her in a kayaking trip?

There's ALWAYS something that will kill you.

Pork, cars, water, frozen lakes, and canoes all have uses besides killing people. So they won't ALWAYS kill a person. Nor would they even rarely, if ever, kill a person. But a gun that shoots a bullet at close range at a person? Man, it's weird that how usually ends in death.

I mean, are you really saying pork=gun? Cause that is some crazy ass equivalence right there.
posted by billysumday at 7:29 PM on February 2, 2009 [1 favorite]

Quick quiz!

Which is more likely to get you in more trouble?

Taking a new, unfamiliar gun to the shooting range, or just out in the woods, every day for a year, or, having unprotected sex with a new, unfamiliar partner every day for a year?

Your favorite hobby sucks.
posted by Balisong at 7:29 PM on February 2, 2009 [1 favorite]

And fuck Americans, you need to stop with all the guns already.

According to your profile, you're from Canada -- which has tons of guns, and a casual Googling finds plenty of accidental discharge deaths in Canada.

In either country, it's a minority of people, and many things kill more people than guns. In this particular case, while it is a tragedy, these people were practically asking for it. The blog entry is shocking in their disregard for fundamental safety.
posted by wildcrdj at 7:29 PM on February 2, 2009

I hope this guy goes to jail or involuntary manslaughter. He deserves it. The great thing about our society is that you actually can go to jail for being an idiot if that idiocy gets someone killed.

I don't think there is a worse place than the hell this young man is already in. No need to throw taxpayer money in on top of it, really.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 7:30 PM on February 2, 2009

I accidentally my wife.
posted by sourwookie at 7:30 PM on February 2, 2009 [2 favorites]

Another thing, I think people should be able to have their gun licenses taken away if pictures like this show up online.
posted by Paris Hilton at 7:31 PM on February 2, 2009 [2 favorites]

Taking a new, unfamiliar gun to the shooting range, or just out in the woods, every day for a year, or, having unprotected sex with a new, unfamiliar partner every day for a year?

What's more difficult? 1) having protected sex, 2) not pointing a loaded gun at people
posted by Paris Hilton at 7:32 PM on February 2, 2009 [1 favorite]

Yay NRA.
posted by unSane at 7:33 PM on February 2, 2009

Yay homeschooling.
posted by unSane at 7:34 PM on February 2, 2009

Yay guns.
posted by unSane at 7:34 PM on February 2, 2009

Yay America.
posted by unSane at 7:34 PM on February 2, 2009

Look at Steven holding the gun on them!

Did the kids in those pictures have real guns, too?

I mean, I learned how to shoot a rifle when I was small, but this seems fucked.

I feel very badly for those people.
posted by theefixedstars at 7:34 PM on February 2, 2009

Being accidentally shot through the wall of an apartment building would be a hell of a way to go.
posted by anthill at 7:34 PM on February 2, 2009

Stupid, not tragic. Dumb, not tragic. Mentally deranged, not tragic. Avoidable and unnecessary, not tragic.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 7:36 PM on February 2, 2009

From the article:

“God is in control, but that doesn’t make it any easier at the present time.”

The two met through a basketball league for home-schooled students, according to their wedding Web site. Instead of dating, they describe an old-fashioned courtship.

“We are a Christian couple striving to live a life that glorifies our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ,” they wrote.

“Josh and I practice clearing the apartment in case an intruder were to come we have a plan of action in place,” she wrote.

Christian, home-schooled, playing cops and robbers with live ammo.

Home-schooled and and Christian and thus believing that living in the big bad city of Lincoln Nebraska meant hordes of the godless "welfare people" who Rush Limbaugh railed about everyday during their home-school "classes" were going to invade their apartment to loot and to rape, so it made sense to practicing "clearing" it just like on CSI: Paranoia-ville.

These kids weren't living in the real world; they were living in multiple fantasies with a "personal relationship" with an invisible sky wizard and fighting, Buffy-like, a scheming tangible Satan entrapping the unwary, and quite probably evil gays "recruiting" little boys and Hillary Clinton cackling evilly while prosecuting the War on Christmas. And Wild-West gun fighters and G.I. Joe cartoons where tons of ammo are shot in every direction but no one ever bleeds or dies.

And of course, they still believe that Alaina not really dead, but playing a harp on a cloud or awaiting rebirth from the grave on The Day that Josh will rise bodily into Heaven.

This is what happens when you have three generations of zealous paranoids and those who profit from paranoia teaching their kids that they're oppressed by gay marriage and blacks voting and women working, that the mainstream culture is a liberal plot, that their only safety lies in insularity, the church, and guns.
posted by orthogonality at 7:36 PM on February 2, 2009 [13 favorites]

WTF is with all the hate in this thread? Ferfuckssakes, a guy killed his wife accidentally. Stupidly, preventably, but accidentally. What the fuck kind of purpose do you serve shitting all over someone who is likely emotionally destroyed?

Sometimes the snark I see on The Blue isn't snark. Sometimes it's "I'm-so-cool-that-I-can-act-like-an-utter-twat-and-not-get-my-nuts-kicked-in" behaviour. Jesus fucking hell.
posted by illiad at 7:37 PM on February 2, 2009 [11 favorites]

.
posted by bshort at 7:38 PM on February 2, 2009

hopefully his late wife has gone to a better place -- one where women are no longer expected to mate with the stupid people.

Err, wasn't she a willing and enthusiastic participant in a culture of irresponsible gunplay?

If this guy had accidentally shot himself, or his brother, say, no-one would care. We blithely accept that men sometimes pay the price for letting themselves get involved in stupid, ill-advised activities. When it's a woman, a misplaced sense of chivalry on the part of men, and a misplaced sense of feminine solidarity on the part of women, turns the situation into a tragedy.

This woman could be the Natalee Holloway of gun safety. Suddenly, everyone cares because it happened to an attractive young white woman.

All the gun hate is annoying.
Would this had made a FPP if the husband "accidentally" poisoned her with uncooked pork?... There's ALWAYS something that will kill you. One way or the other. I suppose no one here has any dangerous hobbies.

'I swear officer, the pork chops just....went off!' Whatever your position on firearms, the idea that guns are 'just another thing' in the same category as embroidery needles or iceskates, is fucking bizarre.
posted by ShameSpiral at 7:39 PM on February 2, 2009

(I live in an isolated rural region a few hours from Detroit, where police response is measured in units of hours, but oddly we have not felt it necessary to buy guns for self-defence. It's called Canada, and we have a lot of guns, but [in general] we don't get hard-ons fantasizing shooting each other with them).
posted by unSane at 7:40 PM on February 2, 2009 [2 favorites]

Balisong has a good point. I don't mind the guns so much--but this is an entire family of people who shouldn't be allowed near them. I have no problems with dangerous hobbies (I ride a motorcycle, etc.) but I do have a problem with the idiots who show up for any dangerous activity (just look on youtube for film of numerous assholes crashing their motorcycles).

One of the things we don't do very well for our young people is to use their high school time to actually prepare them for life. We don't teach them useful information about money, and how it can fuck you up if you're not careful, and can be an incredible tool if you are. We don't give them much useful information on sex or drugs or even basic human relationships. We don't teach them to interview for jobs. And we definitely don't teach them about the wonderful but dangerous material things they may encounter in the world, and how to interact with them safely, and, more importantly, to identify if others are using them safely.

I think this does them a great disservice.

If I was one of the older members of this clan, I would be thinking about the lessons I had failed to impart to my children and how that led, in part, to this idiotic shooting. I'd be carefully contemplating my own negligence and culpability, and what I could do to improve things so it didn't happen again. Why do I doubt any of that will happen?
posted by maxwelton at 7:42 PM on February 2, 2009 [6 favorites]

Reverend Bob: Do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?

Groom: I pew-pew-pew!

Reverend Bob: And do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?

Bride: I pew-pew-pew!

Reverend Bob: By the power invested in me by the great NRA I now pronounce you - *GUN FINGERS* - husband and wife!

*CROWD DISCHARGES AUTOMATIC RIFLES INTO THE AIR*

Reverend Bob: Now let's get us some hominy grits! Last one to down a pint of Jack gets to clean up!

Groom: Yeehaw!

Bride: I'm happier'n a buzzard in guts!
posted by turgid dahlia at 7:43 PM on February 2, 2009 [3 favorites]

Heheh.. couldn't help but laugh at this one. God's got a place for her, for sure. ::dramatic rolling of the eyes::
posted by ChickenringNYC at 7:44 PM on February 2, 2009

Sigh. Death by stupidity.

Not really sure what else there is to say about it. It's sort of the gun equivalent of the story about the kid who drives too fast and splatters his date all over the highway on prom night.

I suppose it's a fine thing to post if it causes everyone to be that much more careful the next time they're doing anything potentially hazardous, whether with guns or cars or power tools or anything else that can maim or kill with a moment's inattention, but I don't think there's any other lesson in it.
posted by Kadin2048 at 7:51 PM on February 2, 2009

Taking a new, unfamiliar gun to the shooting range, or just out in the woods, every day for a year, or, having unprotected sex with a new, unfamiliar partner every day for a year?

What's more difficult? 1) having protected sex, 2) not pointing a loaded gun at people

Is this a trick question? They're both pretty easy.
posted by Lemurrhea at 7:52 PM on February 2, 2009 [1 favorite]

Paris Hilton: The other thing that I noticed, these guys don't look like the ignorant rednecks you would expect. They seem to dress like relatively well off people, which makes it more suppressing. Like they should have known better.

Being well-dressed =! being rich.
Being rich =! being smart.
Your moniker fits you well.

St. Alia of the Bunnies: I don't think there is a worse place than the hell this young man is already in. No need to throw taxpayer money in on top of it, really.

Yes, because that's exactly how the courts should work--if the criminal feels really really really bad, we shouldn't bother.

Balisong: Would this had made a FPP if the husband "accidentally" poisoned her with uncooked pork? Backed over her in his car? moved her somewhere with mercury in the drinking water? Taken her ice skating and she broke her neck? drowned her in a kayaking trip?

Oh, ffs, please. I mean, really, please.

You know another way this story wouldn't have made a FPP? If the couple had been black. Because then it wouldn't have been in the news.

I'm really torn, though--on the one hand, I am entirely for gun control. On the other hand, the moment I read that her father figured it was all a part of God's plan, I had an overwhelming urge to shoot him in the fucking head. Hell, he isn't using it, so why not.
posted by tzikeh at 7:52 PM on February 2, 2009 [2 favorites]

What's wrong with KEEP YOUR FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER and rack the shotgun a few times to make sure it's empty?

Heck, I have two loaded 9mm handguns in my house, and unless I'm in the process of having to use it, when one gets picked up from my desk or next to the bed, the mag gets dropped and the slide gets locked back to make sure there's not a round in the chamber. Instinctively. Same with the AR15 - even if there's not a mag in the gun, the bolt gets locked back and chamber checked. No gun gets handed to anyone else without the slide or bolt being locked back or the cylinder out. Unless it's a carry/home defense gun, you don't bring a loaded firearm into the house.

My parents are/were cops, and I was taught gun safety as soon as I was old enough to understand what was going on. ITS NOT HARD, PEOPLE!
posted by mrbill at 7:53 PM on February 2, 2009 [1 favorite]

This post has the feel of a giant real-life psychological experiment. Well played, liver.
posted by chinston at 7:56 PM on February 2, 2009 [2 favorites]

WTF is with all the hate in this thread? Ferfuckssakes, a guy killed his wife accidentally. Stupidly, preventably, but accidentally. What the fuck kind of purpose do you serve shitting all over someone who is likely emotionally destroyed?

I'm sorry but it is pretty funny that they have guns to protect them from imaginary hordes of darkies and they always wind up killing their loved ones instead.
posted by Optimus Chyme at 8:01 PM on February 2, 2009

Conservative, Christian, and Careless, with complete ignorance of the most basic gun safety rules.

Darwin has his day... and there's presumably one less vote for politicians that refuse to consider legislation making gun ownership safer for all involved, rather than something that any idiot can -- and will -- do with no training whatsoever.

(And yet, who doesn't complain about recent immigrants who are out on the street driving with little more than a few days of basic driver ed.)
posted by markkraft at 8:05 PM on February 2, 2009

Assuming a gun isn't loaded: Stupid and fatal.

Assuming the motivations and fears of people you don't know: Just stupid.
posted by Fuzzy Skinner at 8:08 PM on February 2, 2009 [3 favorites]

Wow, I have never flagged the heck out of a thread like I have this one. What utterly despicable comments. This is tragedy, made more so by its preventability and the utter foolishness which caused it.

Folks, If you can muster any sympathy or empathy for the loss, fine. At least show some basic human decency and the discretion to keep your bilious opinions to yourselves.

.
posted by leotrotsky at 8:10 PM on February 2, 2009 [4 favorites]

Exactly, Optimus. It is in no way wrong to laugh at this story. Doesn't make us haters. Why should I feel sorry for people who are so fucking ignorant, who put themselves AND their entire family in danger on a regular basis, who obviously have no respect for the deadly and awesome power of of the death cannons they play with like action toys? It's actually good that this happened, because maybe JUST A FEW people will think twice before getting his 'n hers .45's for their honeymoon. And so once more, HAH!! HAHAH!!!
posted by ChickenringNYC at 8:10 PM on February 2, 2009

This is tragedy

In the sense that it was caused by hubris, yes.
posted by Optimus Chyme at 8:13 PM on February 2, 2009 [1 favorite]

Dude, they're in their early twenties, they're married, they only have associate's degrees, they're throwing GAWDs and JEEBUSes back and forth, and they're gun nuts. This doesn't scream Stupid Redneck Fundie Hick to you?

Don't go there. Someone's died an unnecessary death, but I suppose it's alright because she wasn't on her way to a post-doc, amirite?
posted by thisjax at 8:18 PM on February 2, 2009 [12 favorites]

Same with the AR15 - even if there's not a mag in the gun, the bolt gets locked back and chamber checked.

My trick is to not own a crazy-ass assault rifle. I haven't accidently killed anyone yet.
posted by chunking express at 8:18 PM on February 2, 2009 [3 favorites]

I'm sorry but it is pretty funny that they have guns to protect them from imaginary hordes of darkies and they always wind up killing their loved ones instead.

Yes. They were obviously young racists and therefore deserved to die. It's HILARIOUS! My god she wore White to her wedding! Hello? Klan sheets!

If you weren't so against guns we could just go drive our hybrids out there and shoot those fucking racist crackers again, huh!

YEEEEEHA!
posted by tkchrist at 8:18 PM on February 2, 2009 [6 favorites]

Reverend Bob: Now let's get us some hominy grits! Last one to down a pint of Jack gets to clean up!

And fake translations of russian lolcats was offensive with its stereotyping?
posted by flaterik at 8:19 PM on February 2, 2009

Once I was shooting clay pigeons with my brothers-in-law in the back field of the most gun-safety-one's farm when suddenly the shotgun went off into the ground at his (and pretty much OUR) feet as he was cradling it... I backed away, grabbed my wife's elbow and we retreated back to the house. I was considered a pussy, but that didn't hurt me at all.

.
posted by Ron Thanagar at 8:20 PM on February 2, 2009

I wonder what our gun-death rates in the U.S. are compared to, say, Europe's murder rates just prior to the invention of guns. I'd think the gun-releated deaths now are more common simply because there didn't exist back then the widespread ability to blow someone's head off with the twitch of a finger. Killing people took a lot more *effort* before guns.

You know what I think? I think that the whole 'on the 7th day the Lord rested' thing is a myth and the dirty secret is that on the seventh day, God made GUNS. Just to fuck with us.
posted by jamstigator at 8:21 PM on February 2, 2009

I'm not sure how Christian faith can be reconciled with keeping guns and practicing "clearing" in case of "intruders." I'm fairly certain that Someone had some things to say about how to treat your enemies, what to do in the face of evil men oppressing you, and what happens to those who live by the sword.

I mean, this is sad. I don't want to know what it feels like to be that guy right now. But I read this story, I see those pictures, and then I read all the quotes about God and Jesus, and it just doesn't make any sense to me. How can one hold two such contradictory notions in one's head at once?
posted by Scattercat at 8:22 PM on February 2, 2009

"What the fuck kind of purpose do you serve shitting all over someone who is likely emotionally destroyed?"

But hey, if it were a Blagojevich post, that would be alright.

Really though, are we going up to the guy's front door, ringing the bell, and laughing in his face? No. I don't think so.

Foolish, irresponsible behavior deserves a bit of scorn, especially when analyzed in a place like MeFi, which, last time I heard, isn't a memorial for all the people of the world who do stupid things. More often than not, it's where people say what they feel.

And I feel that these people's actions were so irresponsible, it's damn hard for me to sympathize with them, especially since I did grow up with considerable strict training in the right way to handle firearms.

Really, it could've just as easily been one -- or more -- of the young kids the day before. Now *THAT* would be tragic, because it's hard to blame the kids involved.

But as for the guy who shot his wife? He should be arrested for manslaughter, do a bit of time, and forced to do years of community service, at minimum.
posted by markkraft at 8:26 PM on February 2, 2009 [2 favorites]

I don't even understand how this happened. I have cleaned my own shotgun many time, and no part of it involves pulling back the hammer or squeezing the trigger. Perhaps he owns a pump action, rather than one that must be broken to load, like mine, but I have shot pump actions many times and I still don't understand how this happened. Given their photos, it is hard not to read "accidental discharge while cleaning" as "negligent horseplay."

That reminds me, though: I need to buy some trigger locks.
posted by Astro Zombie at 8:27 PM on February 2, 2009 [1 favorite]

Within Christianity, there is a wide diversity of beliefs, and not all Christians are the same.
posted by Paris Hilton at 8:29 PM on February 2, 2009

People do really stupid things. And the predictability of how we judge said stupidity is directly proportional to ones own prejudices and biases.

There are over 215 million firearms owned by private citizens in the US. The overwhelming majority don't kill anybody. The majority, that don't hunt, never even get pulled out of closets and shot but once or twice. Which is kind of the problem. The FBI reports that the nation's total violent crime rate declined every year between 1991-2004. In 2004, the violent crime rate fell to a 30-year low, lower than any time since 1974. Concurrently, the most recent Bureau of Justice Statistics crime victimization survey found that violent crime is lower than anytime since 1973, when the first such survey was conducted. Yet the number of gun owners is also at an all-time high.
posted by tkchrist at 8:29 PM on February 2, 2009

Dude, they're in their early twenties, they're married, they only have associate's degrees, they're throwing GAWDs and JEEBUSes back and forth, and they're gun nuts. This doesn't scream Stupid Redneck Fundie Hick to you?

posted by kldickson

No. They're typical outdoorsy midwestern young adults with lifestyles typical to the region. Their entire family has paid a horrible price for awful gun safety habits. But thanks for making yourself feel superior, jackass.
posted by letitrain at 8:31 PM on February 2, 2009 [5 favorites]

I'm torn between some snarky comment about how this was an accident waiting to happen, and expressing sympathy for the deceased.

All I will say is that this is tragic and all-too-foreseeable.
posted by Simon Barclay at 8:32 PM on February 2, 2009

I know MeFi doesn't do guns very well, but why is it white guys with guns are either about to go on a killing spree or they're racists?
posted by adipocere at 8:33 PM on February 2, 2009

I probably would not have liked these people. I don't want to be around them. But this is still really sad.

I didn't grow up with gun culture, but I've been around it enough to know that even people who know damn well better do really dumb shit with guns, especially when they're in high spirits, or drunk. They've just lived with them for so long they take them for granted. I mean, nothing terrible has happened yet, right? They let their guard down, start messing around. It could go on for years, generations, without incident. I've certainly had guns pointed at me in jest, and been mocked when I objected (FUCKING STRONGLY JESUS CHRIST WHAT THE HELL.) These were people who could recite gun safety manuals backwards from memory.

If anything comes of this, I hope it's a wake up call for people who have been around guns their entire lives - knowledge and experience alone won't protect you.
posted by louche mustachio at 8:35 PM on February 2, 2009

A 5000 dollar per bullet charge would prevent these kinds of things from happening to common folk. (CR)
posted by Flex1970 at 8:35 PM on February 2, 2009

It's actually good that this happened, because maybe JUST A FEW people will think twice before getting his 'n hers .45's for their honeymoon. And so once more, HAH!! HAHAH!!!

This is not why I paid my five dollars. I get being edgy and funny, I'm sure you'll get favorited a few times because metafilter is really weird like that but seriously that comment sucks really hard. You may not like guns, I can get that but you're a prick.
posted by BrnP84 at 8:35 PM on February 2, 2009 [5 favorites]

Balisong, maybe I'd be shocked and appalled if they'd made big splashy blog posts about eating raw pork (and then she DIED OF TRICHINOSIS) or gleefully flouting kayaking safety (and then she DROWNED) or something but it's apples and oranges. They were publicly reveling in some very unsafe behavior and, sadly, it caught up with them. Whether or not this was worthy of a front-page post, I dunno. But I thought it was a compelling collection of links and--while sad sad sad--very thought-provoking.
posted by Neofelis at 8:35 PM on February 2, 2009

I wonder what our gun-death rates in the U.S. are compared to, say, Europe's murder rates just prior to the invention of guns. I'd think the gun-releated deaths now are more common simply because there didn't exist back then the widespread ability to blow someone's head off with the twitch of a finger. Killing people took a lot more *effort* before guns.

It would seem so. However violent death is LOWER in Western countries, including the US, now than ever before in human history. And it keeps going down. Despite the fact that gun ownership is going up.

Now one could conclude that it is therefor unnecessary to own a gun for self defense purposes. Sure. But one could likewise ask where is the ever increasing blood bath, what with all the ever increasing guns on the streets? The fact is violent crime rate doesn't have to with guns. It has everything to do with culture and economics.
posted by tkchrist at 8:37 PM on February 2, 2009

There's a huge line -- not a fine line, a HUGE fucking line -- between being shocked and angry over the stupid and repeated carelessness that finally led to this horrible waste of life, and damn near celebrating the loss of someone Not Like You with cheap jokes and schadenfreude.

I visited the previously linked site by the gun owner who foolishly shot himself in his leg and who still suffers from the after effects. He does a damn fine job of beating himself up for his own damn mistakes, and earnestly posts his pictures and story in an effort to help someone else there not be so complacent and stupid. Sometimes people get a second chance to realize how reckless they are. And sometimes they don't.
posted by maudlin at 8:37 PM on February 2, 2009 [1 favorite]

The other thing that I noticed, these guys don't look like the ignorant rednecks you would expect. They seem to dress like relatively well off people, which makes it more suppressing. [sic] Like they should have known better.

I don't see anyone wearing anything that couldn't have come from Walmart.
Hot tip: most rural people stopped wearing patched overalls and flour sack dresses decades ago.
posted by aquafortis at 8:41 PM on February 2, 2009

all the jeebus born again praise hymn crap annoyed me, but it might actually help them deal with this, or it might make them realize that you can't just call all the good shit miracles and blame the bad shit on others or bad luck. it is a tragedy that was avoidable--seeing the pics of them aiming their guns at the uncle was especially foreboding or something. i'm very liberal, but own a glock 19 and pump-shotgun (just like the poster and her husband) as well as a small carry-gun; technically, i own an ar15, but it was a gift that i can't sell. anyway. i know i'm careful and follow the posted, classic rules; i've been around guns for 30 years (i'm 38) without an accident, however, accidents do happen. i've known very prudent, intelligent, non-fundie redneck (or whatever insult you want to label him) people who've had accidental discharges.
posted by whatgorilla at 8:42 PM on February 2, 2009

It's pretty obvious why they aren't getting sympathy from some here - because they appear to represent so many of the things that many of here here believe have caused such terrible destruction to this country.

We don't know that they voted for Bush; we don't know that they supported the war; we can only guess what their views on foreigners, gays, drug users and liberals are; but we have a pretty good theory nonetheless. There's been an awful lot of hate directed towards people like (most of) us, from people like them. It's impossible to tell in this specific case but "we" have been persecuted by people a lot like the people we're seeing in these articles - and always from a sense of moral superiority and sometimes with those guns Americans are so obsessed with being waved around.

So it's really hard not to feel Schadenfreüde here. I myself am pretty sympathetic to them - that's very young to die.

(As for previous posters with the argument, "You need a gun because the government won't protect you" - actually in other countries the government does a pretty good job of protecting you, but that's because they have priorities with their money other than killing Arabs and arresting pot smokers...)
posted by lupus_yonderboy at 8:42 PM on February 2, 2009 [2 favorites]

I am not against responsible people owning guns. Full Stop.
I think it was a mistake to enshrine the ownership of guns as a Constitutional right. Full Stop.

The framers of the Constitution made mistakes, some of which have been corrected by now. The mythologizing of firearms is at least partially due to one such a mistake, one that will never be addressed.
posted by edgeways at 8:44 PM on February 2, 2009 [1 favorite]

This doesn't scream Stupid Redneck Fundie Hick to you? [Much more of the same skipped].

Look, as an educated urban elite hipster (well, okay, not quite but you know what I mean) I've known plenty of idiots who had guns and shouldn't have, including one or two who played around with guns knowing full well they were loaded resulting in at least one instance of unintended discharge: thankfully, and by sheer luck alone, not at someone. And all of these stupid fuckers were people from more or less my own social set. Quit it with the bigotry. That this guy's an ass who shouldn't be allowed near anything lethal (to others, anyway) is quite sufficient, you don't need to bring your personal hatreds into it.
posted by George_Spiggott at 8:45 PM on February 2, 2009 [1 favorite]

Still really waiting for Liver to explain the purpose of posting this story.
posted by XQUZYPHYR at 8:46 PM on February 2, 2009

What has truly disturbed me about this thread is that the comments from peggynature's post are now indistinguishable from some of the comments here.

Some of these comments are the most hateful things I've ever read in this site. A fucking guy shot his wife by accident. Yeah, they sucked at gun safety. How exactly does that make these people the target of all this bullshit hatred?

Fuck.
posted by ORthey at 8:46 PM on February 2, 2009 [2 favorites]

Neither well-regulated nor a militia. Ergo, should not have had a gun.

My god have mercy on his soul.
posted by GuyZero at 8:47 PM on February 2, 2009

Yeesh, what is wrong with (some of) you? It was an accidental death, definitely brought on by foolishness. However, it's obvious that some of you take great pleasure in hearing about some gun nuts dying, and others project their own hatred of rednecks/Christians/conservatives. I'm sure they'll be laughing it up in the sticks when you choke on your soy latte. I'm a politically moderate, non-gun-owning urban atheist, and I don't want to be mistaken for you guys. Somehow, I can find it in my heart to feel bad for some foolish Christian gun nut who, completely without malice, ruined his own life and ended another. Go figure.
posted by Edgewise at 8:47 PM on February 2, 2009 [1 favorite]

And fuck Americans, you need to stop with all the guns already.

Easy now, accidental shootings happen everywhere - here in NZ it's most often while deer hunting in dense bush and failing to double/triple check your target. But I'm sure we have the occasional 'discharge while cleaning' accident as well - it's a cliche for a reason.
posted by The Monkey at 8:47 PM on February 2, 2009

If this was a Lifetime movie, the bride would have a hefty insurance policy on her life, with double indemnity in case of accidental death. Later it would be discovered that the bride wasn't really comfortable with guns, or playing COPS in the apartment, but her husband convinced her it was necessary for their safety. He told her she'd feel better if they took some fun pictures totin' guns and fooling around with friends and relatives, and then she blogged about it. Someday they'd look back at those blog posts and laugh about how green she was at one time when it came to guns.....
posted by Oriole Adams at 8:48 PM on February 2, 2009

Concurrently, the most recent Bureau of Justice Statistics crime victimization survey found that violent crime is lower than anytime since 1973, when the first such survey was conducted. Yet the number of gun owners is also at an all-time high.

I'm trying to figure out what correlation you're trying to twist into causation here...that crime rate is low because everyone's got a gun, or that crime rate is low despite everyone having a gun. But for fun, we can throw in, say, Australia, where crime rates have declined significantly over a similar period, but a decade ago we had massive gun law reform that saw many guns banned, bought-back from their owners and destroyed.
posted by Jimbob at 8:49 PM on February 2, 2009 [1 favorite]

Good god, Metafilter, it's like there's pure vitriol in the air tonight. I think I'm going to go to bed and hope it's out of the system by tomorrow.

this was very sad, by the way. the FPP and the comments.
posted by six-or-six-thirty at 8:51 PM on February 2, 2009 [1 favorite]

It's a good thing they had those guns, so they could kill government agents/criminals/intruders/McCoys.
posted by TheNewWazoo at 8:51 PM on February 2, 2009