Owning a firearm comes with an enormous amount of responsibility and obligation. An obligation to society, your children, your family, and even yourself. An obligation to handle the firearm in a safe and responsible manner at all times. This is especially important with the extremely biased, negative media coverage. Studies show that most firearm accidents are caused by human error, often called an “accidental discharge”, but in reality should be labeled as negligent discharge.

There are a few things that can contribute to these negligent discharges. First, many gun owners become complacent after years of gun ownership. They know everything about guns, and think they don’t need to think about what they are doing. This often leads to a tragic end. I saw a range officer at a local range test the trigger on a guys revolver while pointing it downrange, where my friend was hanging targets, clearing the weapon first. Luckily it was unloaded. Needless to say, we packed up and went on our way.

Along with complacency there is the person who just doesn’t appreciate the danger of mishandling a firearm. They don’t take the responsibility seriously. This is the problem I see the most. Somebody wants to show me their new “toy”, take it off the shelf, and proceed to sweep everybody in the room without at least checking the condition of the weapon (is it loaded?).

Whether the victim of these tragedies is the family dog, your best friend, your 3 year old daughter, or, if you’re lucky, your refrigerator, is left up to chance if you do not take the responsibility seriously.