Thread: Just had an ND
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Old September 15, 2008, 11:51 AM   #16
pax
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Join Date: May 16, 2000
Location: In a state of flux
Posts: 7,520
Quote:
Originally Posted by 22lr
Gun safety "rules and guidelines" need to be followed EVERY TIME. I plan on never having a negligent discharge. And for those who snicker and think "just a matter of time"... I just can't think of anything to say to you.
Quote:
Originally Posted by keltyke
What a useless statement. No one ever PLANS to have a ND, but it MIGHT happen. You might forget, or get distracted, or be tired, or any number of other reasons.
Stop! You're both right.

Seriously, guys, listen to each other for a minute.

22lr is saying that he plans to do the smart, safe thing and follow the rules every single time he handles a gun. He's absolutely correct: if you follow the rules scrupulously, habitually, religiously, you VASTLY reduce your chances of having an ND. That's because the rules comprise a complete safety system, interlocking and overlapping, with multiply-redundant layers of safety placed between the shooter and a tragedy.

But Keltyke is saying (also correctly) that human beings make mistakes. There's absolutely no arguing with this. It's absolutely true. Every human being on the planet makes mistakes -- through laziness or foolishness, through tiredness or distraction, through inattention or simple forgetfulness. Everyone makes mistakes. There are no exceptions to this rule (and there are no exceptions to the rule that everyone wants to be an exception to the rule).

22lr, following all the rules won't prevent you from making a completely predictable human mistake. The ND can still happen. But your habit of following the rules will prevent a tragedy from happening when that mistake is made. That's because there are multiple safety layers built into the rules, which means it will take more than one mistake to cause a tragedy. When you habitually follow all of the rules, all of the time, that tragedy simply won't happen even if the ND does.

For those who habitually throw away one or more of the rules, figuring that it doesn't matter and you'll just be extra careful: for you, it takes only one mistake to cause a tragedy. And since all human beings make mistakes, you're flirting with tragedy rather than with simple embarrassment, every time you handle a gun.

pax
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