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# Gun safety/Talk

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I almost put this link on the main page, but I realized that it might be construed as an inappropriate political statement. (And it would be, I admit!)

[Here is a photo] of [Diane Feinstein]?, a noted advocate of strict gun control, violating the safety rule about keeping your finger off the trigger. One might suppose that an anti-gun Senator might be forgiven for not knowing much about guns, but Feinstein holds a California permit for concealed carry of a handgun (she is reported to carry a .38 special), which generally requires one to take an extensive course on gun safety. There is virtually no chance that she was not taught the finger-on-the-trigger rule.

An anonymous user added

1. Keep it unloaded until you are going to use it

to the list, without changing any of the rest of the text. For one thing, this makes the text describe "four" rules with a list of five, it makes all the references to the rules wrong, and it implies that the people listed as endorsing the original four also endorse this one. For these reasons, I have removed it, and placed it as a separate paragraph. --LDC

I just omitted this one altogether. I don't think it should be omitted altogether, but I fear that including it, along with my explanation of it, will be more controversial than just leaving it out. I seek advise on this.

I would like to say:

"Another rule which is sometimes suggested is that a gun ought to be kept unloaded until you are going to use it. This is very good advice, if understood broadly. For example, just as a smoke detector is constantly 'in use' in a sense, even when there is no fire, a gun carried or kept in the home for self-defense is also constantly 'in use' even when there is no criminal attack underway. Such guns should be stored and handled safely, but loaded."

Like I say, I think that would be more controversial than just leaving it out, even though it is good advice. :-(

I find this page biased, in the sense that many advocate that the right to own firearms for personal use, like hunting, protection, hobby, should be abolished. I see nothing about the restriction of firearms on your page. The one of greatest assurances of gun safety is not to own one. That just leaves the problem of gun safety to those very limited people, like law enforcement, to worry about. And that is no small problem either. And my name, by the way, is Ms. Ruth Ifcher. RoseParks

<i>Well, I disagree. There is nothing on this page about the right to own guns. Nor should there be anything on this page about politics. It isn't that sort of page.

I disagree very strongly, not that it is relevant here, that "one of the greatest assurances of gun safety is not to own one." Particularly for those who are more likely to be victimized by violent crime (including women and the disabled, for example) a gun is an excellent tool for self-defense. But, this page isn't the right place for me to make that kind of claim. --Jimbo Wales

I added statements to that effect, and moved that paragraph up for a more balanced reading. --LDC

I'm going to rewrite it some more, in an attempt to justify moving all aspects of the political debate away from this page. But please, all, regard my changes as provisional (of course!), and change it back if you feel that my rendering is not fair. --Jimbo Wales

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Last edited April 18, 2001 4:56 pm (diff)
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