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Fredericksburg PD responds to two recent NDs into adjacent apartments

V

va_tazdad

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Feb 23, 2009
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Location
Richmond, Virginia, USA
Close, but no cigar

TFred said:
Confused on the "commie drivel" label, but the article is authored by Natatia Bledsoe, Public Information Officer for the Fred PD.

TFred
Click to expand...

Ms. Bledsoe is correct about rules # 1 & 2, but # 3 is wrong. An empty gun is nothing more than a club.

I guess she wants us to have to find the ammunition and load it while the criminals are busy committing whatever crime they intended. Sorry, but I have no intention of being a victim.

Proof positive that police do not know all as they seem to act.
 
G

grylnsmn

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Dec 28, 2010
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Pacific Northwest
va_tazdad said:
Ms. Bledsoe is correct about rules # 1 & 2, but # 3 is wrong. An empty gun is nothing more than a club.

I guess she wants us to have to find the ammunition and load it while the criminals are busy committing whatever crime they intended. Sorry, but I have no intention of being a victim.

Proof positive that police do not know all as they seem to act.
Click to expand...

She appears to be confusing range safety rules with general gun safety rules.

Most ranges have rules saying that guns are to be unloaded at all times except for when you are ready to fire (with some exceptions, such as if it is holstered). However, that is a rule for while you are on the firing line of a range, not for handling guns generally.
 
The Wolfhound

The Wolfhound

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She actually gets it right.

Her instructions are straight from the NRA manual. The unsaid part is that a defensive arm must be loaded and ready to use. Your properly carried or stored loaded handgun is ready to use. Once you start playing with it you have left the Rules behind. It is always on the gun owner/operator to act safely. If you are prone to fumblefingering certain firearms might not be among your best choices.
 
V

va_tazdad

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Richmond, Virginia, USA
Agree to disagree

ProShooter said:
As Wolfhound said, her 3 (NRA) rules are correct as written.

You have to understand the context in which they are written. Nothing incorrect about what she wrote at all.
Click to expand...

I read and understand the context in which they were written. No range was mentioned. I just don't agree with her or the NRA.

As I said, an unloaded gun is nothing more than a club and I don't like using a club to defend myself when a gun is available. My guns are loaded and ready for use at all times and stored properly. I see no logic in having to load a gun while a burglar is ransacking my home or threatening my family. It is just not logical.

I have both received and taught proper gun safety in my career. Neither the NRA nor "the government" are the last word or law in correct gun handling. Both have been wrong in my experience.
 
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TFred

TFred

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Most historic town in, Virginia, USA
You are probably correct in your explanation of what they mean, except... how many people who read that blog are going to understand the context?

Vocabulary is everything, and words mean things. I believe that most common people would understand the verb "use" in the context of immediately firing the gun, not carrying it over an extended period of time in the anticipation that you may need to fire it at some unidentified point in the future.

For that meaning of the word "use", the rule is simply wrong.

I really wish someone would come up with a set of rules that made sense at all times and under all circumstances.

I think I like the Candian Firearms Program rules the best. From Wiki:

The Canadian Firearms Program uses the concept of The Four Firearm ACTS:

1. Assume every firearm is loaded.
2. Control the muzzle direction at all times.
3. Trigger finger off trigger and out of trigger guard.
4. See that the firearm is unloaded. PROVE it safe.​

—Canadian Firearms Centre, The Four ACTS of Firearm Safety[3]​

TFred

ETA: I like these rules #1 and #2 especially, because they allow you to live in "real life" while keeping the rules. Some of the other rules do not (for example the rule I hate the most is "All guns are always loaded.")

If you "assume" every firearm is loaded, that means you always check each time you handle the firearm. It allows you to do that check, then proceed to clean or perform maintenance, which are activities that one simply would not do if the firearm were actually loaded.

"Controlling" the muzzle is also good because yet again, it allows for real life. It prevents careless handling, sweeping, etc, but also allows me to shine a flashlight through the barrel after I've cleaned it to see that it is clean. Some of the other rules, such as "Never let the muzzle cover anything you are not willing to destroy" would not allow you to properly inspect a gun.

The worst rule is a rule with "exceptions", especially exceptions that are not documented. A rule that does not always apply and that must occasionally be broken is a dangerous rule.
 
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