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Woman accidentally shoots self during handgun class

longwatch

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Never point your weapon at anything you do not intend to shoot. Keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to fire.
http://www.wvgazette.com/section/Breaking/000000768

August 01, 2007 Woman accidentally shoots self during handgun class (9:04 am) The Associated Press

FORT SPRING -- A woman taking an advanced handgun class accidentally shot herself during a training session. Michelle S. Cox, 50, of Alexandria, Va., shot herself in her upper left thigh with a 9mm semiautomatic handgun. Cox was taken to a local hospital after last week's accident at a gun range in Fort Spring. Her condition was not immediately available but Greenbrier County sheriff's Deputy Lt. B. E. Hosey said the injury was not life threatening.
Hosey said Cox had pointed the gun at her body and had her finger on the trigger, a violation of several safety rules. But he said the shooting was accidental and no charges will be filed.
 

HankT

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Sitrep wrote:
"advanced handgun class"

I think she needs to go back to the beginners class.

Accidents happen, but negligence happens a lot more often.

Negligent discharge. Guns are really, really dangerous. That's why the ROs and trainers andeverybody else is always nagging about it.

Perhaps the answer is to require potential gunowners pass a nationally recognized basic firearm safety and familiarization class prior to owning a gun?
 

openryan

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HankT wrote:
Sitrep wrote:
"advanced handgun class"

I think she needs to go back to the beginners class.

Accidents happen, but negligence happens a lot more often.

Negligent discharge. Guns are really, really dangerous. That's why the ROs and trainers andeverybody else is always nagging about it.

Perhaps the answer is to require potential gunowners pass a nationally recognized basic firearm safety and familiarization class prior to owning a gun?
That says it all!

This is how you fellers' shoot yer guns in VA? :D
 

Sitrep

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HankT, I agree that every potential gun owner should take a basic firearms class, beyond that anyone who may potentialy run across a gun should take that class. I think it should just be taught in high school or sooner.
 

openryan

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Sitrep wrote:
HankT, I agree that every potential gun owner should take a basic firearms class, beyond that anyone who may potentialy run across a gun should take that class. I think it should just be taught in high school or sooner.
I could see maybe a quiz as to the laws regarding firearms, or their very, very basic operation.

Once you get into classes, well thats a whole different animal.
 

Tomahawk

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HankT wrote:
Perhaps the answer is to require potential gunowners pass a nationally recognized basic firearm safety and familiarization class prior to owning a gun?

You mean everyone should get gun safety training in elementary school, then. Okay.
 

HankT

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Tomahawk wrote:
HankT wrote:
Perhaps the answer is to require potential gunowners pass a nationally recognized basic firearm safety and familiarization class prior to owning a gun?

You mean everyone should get gun safety training in elementary school, then. Okay.

Nah. Just people buying or getting guns. Something like that.

I'd also propose that some kind of mandatory practice be done by gun carriers.

Mandatory safety training, mandatory range practice. It would be good for everybody.
 

Tomahawk

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HankT wrote:
Tomahawk wrote:
HankT wrote:
Perhaps the answer is to require potential gunowners pass a nationally recognized basic firearm safety and familiarization class prior to owning a gun?

You mean everyone should get gun safety training in elementary school, then. Okay.

Nah. Just people buying or getting guns. Something like that.

I'd also propose that some kind of mandatory practice be done by gun carriers.

Mandatory safety training, mandatory range practice. It would be good for everybody.
Oh, I see. More gun control, again. I knew I could count on ya, Hank. Moving right along...
 

HankT

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Tomahawk wrote:
HankT wrote:
Tomahawk wrote:
HankT wrote:
Perhaps the answer is to require potential gunowners pass a nationally recognized basic firearm safety and familiarization class prior to owning a gun?

You mean everyone should get gun safety training in elementary school, then. Okay.

Nah. Just people buying or getting guns. Something like that.

I'd also propose that some kind of mandatory practice be done by gun carriers.

Mandatory safety training, mandatory range practice. It would be good for everybody.
Oh, I see. More gun control, again. I knew I could count on ya, Hank. Moving right along...


How is that gun control? Safety issues and compliance do not bump up against 2A.

And if someone has guns, they should shoot them. They should practice. Nothing outrageous, mind you. Maybe once every two months. OK, three. Gun owners who practice are good for society and themselves.

Remember: a right unexercised is a right that gets rusty (and unsafe).


(That reminds me. I have GOT to get to the range this week.)
 

longwatch

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Um she was at a training course. How do you know she hadn't training before or on the other hand that she even owned a firearm? This incident doesn't really justify you national gun control proposal and I can't imagine any meaningful training course that would involve live fire at some point which assuming she was a neophyte to handguns could still have happened under your proposal.
 

longwatch

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From a guy I know IRL and posted on THR
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=292909
1911SFOREVER wrote:

I know Michelle. She has taken several classes by Louis Awerbuck and demonstrated herself to be a safe gun handler. She obviously had a dumb attack...thankfully not fatal.

It can happen to anyone. Remember that the next time you're doing one handed manipulation drills, etc.
 

HankT

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openryan wrote:
Sitrep wrote:
HankT, I agree that every potential gun owner should take a basic firearms class, beyond that anyone who may potentialy run across a gun should take that class. I think it should just be taught in high school or sooner.
I could see maybe a quiz as to the laws regarding firearms, or their very, very basic operation.

Once you get into classes, well thats a whole different animal.


Well, a quiz, an exam...something. If they miss too many questions--make them carry the gun with less bullets or something.



If they miss too many and flunk the quiz/exam then their gun is taken away and replaced with a safer implement:

096.JPG
 

GreatWhiteLlama

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If she was in the "advanced class”, that would lead me to believe that she had already taken the "basics" which would have covered the standard safety practices.

So yeah, if she had ANY previous exposure to firearms, she should've known "don't do this".

She got lucky...

As far as mandatory training goes, as much as I agree everyone should receive some form of training, (formal or otherwise) I think it is a very slippery slope to try and impose it.

The reason being that once you have that in place, you are now being allowed what should be a right. We already have too much of that in place and until we get some of it removed, I can't support adding additional barriers to ownership.

There's just never a simple answer is there?
 

PT111

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HankT wrote:
Perhaps the answer is to require potential gunowners pass a nationally recognized basic firearm safety and familiarization class prior to owning a gun?

Interesting comment. There are some who feel that any requirement to own or use a gun is a complete violation of their God given rights and then there are those who favor the complete ban opf all guns. Somewhere in the middle of allowing any 12 year old to walk into a gun store and walk out with a AR-15 and the total ban is what we can expect.

My personal opinion is that some kind of training/certification should be required. I know this does not sit well with those who wantunrestricted open carry and dare a LEO to ask them about it. Either way no amount of training or certification is going to prevent all handgun accidents and I will call them accidents but the number can be reduced.
 

Legba

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openryan wrote:
HankT wrote:
Sitrep wrote:
"advanced handgun class"

I think she needs to go back to the beginners class.

Accidents happen, but negligence happens a lot more often.

Negligent discharge. Guns are really, really dangerous. That's why the ROs and trainers andeverybody else is always nagging about it.

Perhaps the answer is to require potential gunowners pass a nationally recognized basic firearm safety and familiarization class prior to owning a gun?
That says it all!

This is how you fellers' shoot yer guns in VA? :D


Laughing my yankee ass off...

-ljp
 

UTOC-45-44

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longwatch wrote:
Never point your weapon at anything you do not intend to shoot. Keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to fire.
http://www.wvgazette.com/section/Breaking/000000768

August 01, 2007 Woman accidentally shoots self during handgun class (9:04 am) The Associated Press

FORT SPRING -- A woman taking an advanced handgun class accidentally shot herself during a training session. Michelle S. Cox, 50, of Alexandria, Va., shot herself in her upper left thigh with a 9mm semiautomatic handgun. Cox was taken to a local hospital after last week's accident at a gun range in Fort Spring. Her condition was not immediately available but Greenbrier County sheriff's Deputy Lt. B. E. Hosey said the injury was not life threatening.
Hosey said Cox had pointed the gun at her body and had her finger on the trigger, a violation of several safety rules. But he said the shooting was accidental and no charges will be filed.
I bet It was a GLOCK:lol:
 

Lthrnck

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This has always been a touchy subject. I OC most of the time, but I do have my CHL here in Ohio.

I also believe in Safety classes for EVERYONE, starting IN Kindergarten and refreshers courses every3 years though 12th grade. Even if you don't own a gun, you should get training on what to do if you come across one.

After high school if you don't own a gun, then it could be up to you. If you want to own a gun then you should take refreshers courses every 5 years if you want to continue to purchase guns. You should also have to qualify with your chosen weapon every 5 years also, for those of us who carry.

I know this doesn't sit well with some, but I don't feel requiring safety training and requlification is to much to ask.
 

Legba

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My sister-in-law thinks that we're all backwards hillbillies here because our gym teacher in elementary school showed us gun safety films, but I do remember the rules of safety from that early instruction, so I think it's a very good idea, short of actual range/field experience.

-ljp
 
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