Greensburg man screws up, blames gun ownership on child's death

[wtburnette]

Not sure if this is a dupe or not.

This makes me sick:

Greensburg man warns gun owners after stepson?s death | WISH-TV

Man leaves a rifle on the table, without checking to see if a round was in the chamber and his son picks it up and shoots his stepson to death. It's tragic, but the problem wasn't gun ownership, but the man's lack of safety awareness / safe handling of the gun and evidently a failure to train his children properly as well. Now he wants to shift blame to gun ownership...

 

[Birds Away]

Ah, it's the gun's fault, not his.

 

[eldirector]

It is refreshing to see him accept responsibility for his actions. I really do feel for him and his family in this terrible time.

His conclusion is beyond short-sighted, though, and obviously spoken from a mind clouded by grief.

But, such is the emotion-based faulty logic of an anti-freedom, anti-responsibility advocate.

 

[Baditude]

He should be held legally responsible since he wants to cast blame. His negligence directly caused the death.

 

[KLB]

Here is the thread from back when it happened.
https://www.indianagunowners.com/fo...n-fires-rifle-killing-13-yr-old-half-bro.html

His comments are new. Truly sad situation and reaction.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

Other than his one statement about the only true safety is not having a gun and that they should be left to professionals, he's pretty spot on. Don't be complacent. Have a routine and stick to it. Keep guns out of the reach of children that aren't familiar with them, you can't be too safe, etc.. Pretty sound advice that.

 

[Doug]

Did you hear about the guy who put his kids in the back of a pick up truck and drove 100 miles per hour?
He hit a bump and the little bounced out and was injured. He decided pick ups are only for contractors who are childless.

This is why we need directions on shampoo.

 

[wtburnette]

Other than his one statement about the only true safety is not having a gun and that they should be left to professionals, he's pretty spot on. Don't be complacent. Have a routine and stick to it. Keep guns out of the reach of children that aren't familiar with them, you can't be too safe, etc.. Pretty sound advice that.

I can agree that if you can't follow safety procedures, gun ownership is probably not for you. This situation would have been SO easy to have been avoided had the guy checked the chamber and/or waited until the children weren't around before he decided to clean the gun.

 

[chipbennett]

FTA:

“Limit the curiosity of the gun to the children. Limit the visual. Don’t talk about it,” said Forshee.

Right: because that always works. Alcohol, drugs, sex, guns: the way to limit curiosity is to hide the object of curiosity away, and never talk about it.

I take the exact opposite approach. When I drink at the dinner table, I do it in front of my kids. When I bought my first handgun, I brought it home, got it out on the coffee table, showed it to the girls, explained what it was and what it was for, and then explained the rules. I'm getting much closer than I'd like to having to deal with sex, but I pray I'll be able to be as forthright about that, too.

Maybe if the man had allayed his son's curiosity at an age earlier than 13, he would not have even wanted to pick up that rifle. Maybe if he'd been taught proper gun safety/handling rules, he would not have even thought of pointing that rifle at his stepbrother and pulling the trigger.

But one thing I do know: "limiting the visual" and refusing to "talk about it" are exactly what led to this tragedy.

 

[spencer rifle]

 

[chipbennett]

By the way, MDA, CSGV, et al won't be happy. The article linked a video from Project ChildSafe, via NSSF, that promotes the Eddie Eagle principles. (Bonus: it stars Julie Golob)

[video=youtube;M86QxNZF3AE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=176&v=M86QxNZF3AE[/video]

 

[DoggyDaddy]

FTA:


Right: because that always works. Alcohol, drugs, sex, guns: the way to limit curiosity is to hide the object of curiosity away, and never talk about it.

I take the exact opposite approach. When I drink at the dinner table, I do it in front of my kids. When I bought my first handgun, I brought it home, got it out on the coffee table, showed it to the girls, explained what it was and what it was for, and then explained the rules. I'm getting much closer than I'd like to having to deal with sex, but I pray I'll be able to be as forthright about that, too.

Maybe if the man had allayed his son's curiosity at an age earlier than 13, he would not have even wanted to pick up that rifle. Maybe if he'd been taught proper gun safety/handling rules, he would not have even thought of pointing that rifle at his stepbrother and pulling the trigger.

But one thing I do know: "limiting the visual" and refusing to "talk about it" are exactly what led to this tragedy.

You have kids... I think that ship has sailed!

 

[chipbennett]

You have kids... I think that ship has sailed!

Indeed! But I'd like to avoid being a grandparent in my 40s.

 

[spencer rifle]

Hmph. Where my wife taught in Evansville, there were a number of 28 year old grandmas.

 

[Kirk Freeman]

“No matter how safe you think you’re being — what precautions you take. I mean, my situation took 10 seconds. Ten seconds and I was about 13 feet away, and the community of Greensburg has been robbed of someone that I think was going to do great things,” said Forshee.

I am sorry for what happened to your step-son but you took no precautions.

You did not unload the weapon, but more to the point you did not teach your children that all guns are always loaded.

But for those who do own guns, he said, “Maybe there are holes in your routine. It’s very easy to make a mistake that will change your life forever.”

Not if you follow the Four Rules. That is what they are there for.

But have you tried teaching your fellow gun owners about the Four Rules? They will fight tooth and nail not to be educated. Have you read an INGO Four Rules thread? Half of them argue about whether it is 3 or 4 rules and the other half want to ***** about "unloaded". Geezus, good luck arguing with everyone with "common sense", buddy, but they won't listen until something bad happens to them.

Good luck, but you should have taught your children who you can educate.

“I had guns to keep my family safe. . . ." said Forshee.

No you didn't. They were toys. If you were serious you would know about the Four Rules and the one in the chamber.

You didn't take your responsibility seriously and now you want to diffuse your guilt by projecting your failures on the rest of us.

“Limit the curiosity of the gun to the children. Limit the visual. Don’t talk about it,”

Yeah, living in fear and in ignorance is something I want my children to do.

 

[Bfish]

Very sad that the guy is so ignorant and obviously doesn't want to face the fact it was his fault... I feel like it's pathetic. I hate to say that about a guy who is the cause of the loss of a child, but he doesn't seem to "get it." So sad, this is why I love to see people educate their kids about firearms.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

Other than his one statement about the only true safety is not having a gun and that they should be left to professionals, he's pretty spot on. Don't be complacent. Have a routine and stick to it. Keep guns out of the reach of children that aren't familiar with them, you can't be too safe, etc.. Pretty sound advice that.

Complacency happens to everyone at some point, but few people recognize it can happen to them. "I never thought it would happen to me" is real common. The rest of us just haven't had the right combination of dumbness overcome our efforts to mitigate them and/or luck. Sort of like riding a motorcycle...

 

[jamil]

Not sure if this is a dupe or not.

This makes me sick:

Greensburg man warns gun owners after stepson?s death | WISH-TV

Man leaves a rifle on the table, without checking to see if a round was in the chamber and his son picks it up and shoots his stepson to death. It's tragic, but the problem wasn't gun ownership, but the man's lack of safety awareness / safe handling of the gun and evidently a failure to train his children properly as well. Now he wants to shift blame to gun ownership...

I feel for his loss, but it seems obvious he can't come to terms that he is responsible for his son's death, and his other son's likely emotional damage.

FTA:


Right: because that always works. Alcohol, drugs, sex, guns: the way to limit curiosity is to hide the object of curiosity away, and never talk about it.

I take the exact opposite approach. When I drink at the dinner table, I do it in front of my kids. When I bought my first handgun, I brought it home, got it out on the coffee table, showed it to the girls, explained what it was and what it was for, and then explained the rules. I'm getting much closer than I'd like to having to deal with sex, but I pray I'll be able to be as forthright about that, too.

Dude, really?

Yeah, I know what you mean. But your words just couldn't not be exploited for my own entertainment.

Complacency happens to everyone at some point, but few people recognize it can happen to them. "I never thought it would happen to me" is real common. The rest of us just haven't had the right combination of dumbness overcome our efforts to mitigate them and/or luck. Sort of like riding a motorcycle...

Sometimes I've had a dumbass attack where I thought under a few different conditions, it'd have made a very bad day. Hasn't happened with firearms yet. It's an area of behavior that I've adopted rules to live by that will hopefully outpace complacency.

 

[IndyDave1776]

Indeed! But I'd like to avoid being a grandparent in my 40s.

Yeah, living in fear and in ignorance is something I want my children to do.

OK, it seems that these two thoughts work well with guns. OK, skip the 'ignorance', but guns and fear (in other people's children) seem to offer much toward avoidance of becoming a grandfather in your 40s.