# Stupid Gun news of the day (Part 1) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 29, 2013, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729 "2013-01-29T19:01:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 19
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2013, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/361 "2013-02-11T01:26:02Z")
> [@Kable](#): > > How many of those accidents are with “assault weapons” that the President intends to ban? Which weapons would those be, exactly? ---
**Author:** ![artemis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/91b2a8/32.png) [@artemis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/artemis)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2013, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/362 "2013-02-11T01:29:33Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > What amazes me is how many people carry their (semi-)automatic pistols cocked and with one in the chamber, as if an emergency will not give them time to rack the slide. Probably because there’s a very good chance that an emergency _won’t_ allow enough time to rack the slide. Which is why pretty much everyone (including the police) who carries a semiautomatic pistol carries it with a round in the chamber and cocked (often with the safety on, if the gun has a frame-mounted safety, which not all pistols do). If the safety’s on, it can be flicked off by the person’s thumb as he/she draws the weapon from the holster, so it doesn’t cause any delay in firing. How does carrying a pistol in that fashion differ in any way from carrying a revolver? Due to their design, revolvers always “have one in the chamber,” and they don’t have safeties, either. ---
**Author:** ![Kable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed655f/32.png) [@Kable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kable)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2013, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/363 "2013-02-11T01:46:11Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > Which weapons would those be, exactly? These ones: [http://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/files/serve/?File\_id=10993387-5d4d-4680-a872-ac8ca4359119](http://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/files/serve/?File_id=10993387-5d4d-4680-a872-ac8ca4359119) ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2013, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/364 "2013-02-11T02:02:27Z")
Huh. That site says “Feinstein” at the top. Where’s the “Obama” list? ---
**Author:** ![Kable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed655f/32.png) [@Kable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kable)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2013, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/365 "2013-02-11T02:34:30Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > Huh. That site says “Feinstein” at the top. Where’s the “Obama” list? Are you just playing dumb? > **[ABC News – Breaking News, Latest News and Videos](https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/comments?id=6960824#.URhYllqLynY)** > > Your trusted source for breaking news, analysis, exclusive interviews, headlines, and videos at ABCNews.com ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2013, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/366 "2013-02-11T02:36:13Z")
> [@artemis](#): > > Probably because there’s a very good chance that an emergency _won’t_ allow enough time to rack the slide. Which is why pretty much everyone (including the police) who carries a semiautomatic pistol carries it with a round in the chamber and cocked… First, and it’s such a stupidly OBVIOUS answer that I don’t know why I have to say it, a cop is in the business of, and trained for, looking for and dealing with trouble A non-cop is neither and is _extremely_ unlikely to encounter such an incident accidentally. Anyway, a good shooter takes a moment to assess the situation before blasting away at anything that moves, time that can also be used to rack the slide and assume a position that allows him proper control of his weapon before aiming and firing. Life, even for a cop, is not a quick draw competition. > [@](#): > > How does carrying a pistol in that fashion differ in any way from carrying a revolver? Due to their design, revolvers always “have one in the chamber,” and they don’t have safeties, either. The old way was to leave the chamber under the hammer empty. With modern, double-action revolvers they say it’s not needed, so I suppose you should leave the next cylinder empty, slowing you down when Frank Miller is at the other end of the street at High Noon. Revolvers are cool, but not toys. My own father was one of those idiots who put a hole in the wall because he didn’t check if his Police Special was really not loaded before he started to clean it. :smack: It’s stupid simple to check, but complacency and decades of experience can get you to drop your guard. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2013, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/367 "2013-02-11T02:40:31Z")
> [@Kable](#): > > Are you just playing dumb? > > [- ABC News](http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/comments?id=6960824#.URhYllqLynY) Feinstein’s reintroduced that bill every year since the last ban expired. Obama may be trying to throw some weight behind it, but it’s tainted goods; that dog won’t hunt. He’s going to have to come up with a separate list of his own, based off of the research done under the “23 things he’d like to get done” that he announced a few weeks ago. I thought he had done that, and released his own list, so I was wondering how it was going to differ from Feinstein’s. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2013, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/368 "2013-02-11T02:42:24Z")
> [@Kable](#): > > Are you suggesting it’s irresponsible to carry exactly like the police do? Duh. Read that list of stupid accidental woundings and killings in just the past couple weeks. You’ll find a number of cops. ETA: And this is my last reply to you. I don’t want this thread to turn into another _ **Kable** Show_. ---
**Author:** ![Kable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed655f/32.png) [@Kable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kable)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2013, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/369 "2013-02-11T02:45:34Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > Duh. Read that list of stupid accidental woundings and killings in just the past couple weeks. You’ll find a number of cops. I don’t doubt that. Most guns are designed to be carried with chambers loaded. They are safe that way if you follow your basic gun safety rules. ---
**Author:** ![Kable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed655f/32.png) [@Kable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kable)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2013, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/370 "2013-02-11T02:47:11Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > ETA: And this is my last reply to you. I don’t want this thread to turn into another _ **Kable** Show_. If I didn’t understand firearms very well, I wouldn’t want to respond to me either. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2013, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/371 "2013-02-11T03:23:34Z")
> [@Kable](#): > > If I didn’t understand firearms very well, I wouldn’t want to respond to me either. It is your dazzling expertise that makes it difficult to engage with you. In your mind anyway. In reality, it’s that the entirety of your argument is “cuz Hitler” and here’s three videos of women with pistols. You’re simply simple, and tiresome, and have nothing remotely intelligent or interesting to add to everyone else’s discussion. But keep telling yourself about the expertise bit. You’re the one who has to live with you. ---
**Author:** ![Kable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed655f/32.png) [@Kable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kable)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2013, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/372 "2013-02-11T04:36:29Z")
> [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](#): > > In reality, it’s that the entirety of your argument is “cuz Hitler” and here’s three videos of women with pistols. You’re simply simple, and tiresome, and have nothing remotely intelligent or interesting to add to everyone else’s discussion. Only 3? You don’t count very well, do you? You were saying something about being simple? Anyway here’s another: https://www.youtube.com/embed/KS2CnfF7pEk?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque&list=UU02JJcAx3xXhXflFI_wgZ6g ---
**Author:** ![Stealth\_Potato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Stealth\_Potato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stealth_Potato)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2013, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/373 "2013-02-11T04:49:21Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > What amazes me is how many people carry their (semi-)automatic pistols cocked and with one in the chamber, as if an emergency will not give them time to rack the slide. In an unscientific survey of people who would be considered “responsible” gun owners the number is [nearly all of them.](http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=325728) Um, yeah, nothing at all surprising about this. It’s how most semiauto pistols are designed to be carried. Hundreds of thousands of police and non-police civilians carry in this way every day without incident – and if you think your average beat cop is safer with a gun than your average CCWer, you’ve never been to the range on police training day. I have, and it can be scary. In any case, if a person is so stupid that they’ll draw a gun, disengage the safety, and _pull the trigger_ when they don’t mean to, then they’re too stupid to be carrying a gun at all, and with or without a round in the chamber, they’re a walking time bomb. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2013, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/374 "2013-02-11T07:14:41Z")
> [@Kable](#): > > Are you just playing dumb? > > [- ABC News](http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/comments?id=6960824#.URhYllqLynY) Well, we know you aren’t _playing_ dumb. BTW, that’s an article from February 2009 you linked to. ---
**Author:** ![Kable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed655f/32.png) [@Kable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kable)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2013, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/375 "2013-02-11T13:37:15Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Well, we know you aren’t _playing_ dumb. BTW, that’s an article from February 2009 you linked to. Not that it matters but here is a newer one for you… > **[Obama still backs new gun ban; top senator less certain | CNN Politics](https://www.cnn.com/2013/02/04/politics/obama-guns/index.html)** > > President Barack Obama heard Minneapolis officials discuss their steps against gun violence Monday. and… https://www.youtube.com/embed/-ExC7fE1LaY?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2013, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/376 "2013-02-11T17:57:34Z")
I voted for Obama twice and I think Obama is stupid on guns. I don’t think he’s trying to follow in the footsteps of Mao or Pol Pot but I do think he is being stupid on guns. I’m not a single issue voter but his position on assault weapons is pushing me further away from him. ---
**Author:** ![artemis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/91b2a8/32.png) [@artemis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/artemis)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2013, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/377 "2013-02-11T18:12:08Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > First, and it’s such a stupidly OBVIOUS answer that I don’t know why I have to say it, a cop is in the business of, and trained for, looking for and dealing with trouble A non-cop is neither and is _extremely_ unlikely to encounter such an incident accidentally. And yet it happens. anyone who’s carrying (cop or civilian) is by definitely preparing for a more-or-less unlikely situation. > [@dropzone](#): > > Anyway, a good shooter takes a moment to assess the situation before blasting away at anything that moves, time that can also be used to rack the slide and assume a position that allows him proper control of his weapon before aiming and firing. And if your would-be shooter has time to do all that, he almost certainly has time to move away from the situation, negating the need to fire at all. True self-defense with a handgun usually IS a quick-draw situation, as the most such shootings occur at a range of seven feet or less. ---
**Author:** ![Kable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed655f/32.png) [@Kable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kable)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2013, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/378 "2013-02-12T00:36:12Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > Anyway, a good shooter takes a moment to assess the situation before blasting away at anything that moves, time that can also be used to rack the slide and assume a position that allows him proper control of his weapon before aiming and firing. Life, even for a cop, is not a quick draw competition. Does it look like this store clerk had time to A) take a moment to assess the situation, B) rack the slide and C) assume a position? https://www.youtube.com/embed/GGOmtyTJ2f0?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque&list=HL1360628122 > [@](#): > > The old way was to leave the chamber under the hammer empty. That’s because if you dropped an older gun on the hammer it might go off. Most modern day guns have firing pin blocks, or other means to prevent such. It had nothing to do with disabling the first shot, rather it disabled only the last shot in a revolver. > [@](#): > > With modern, double-action revolvers they say it’s not needed, so I suppose you should leave the next cylinder empty, slowing you down when Frank Miller is at the other end of the street at High Noon. Suppose? Have you read this in some book of gun safety, a handgun manual, or are you just making this up as you go along. > [@](#): > > My own father was one of those idiots who put a hole in the wall because he didn’t check if his Police Special was really not loaded before he started to clean it. :smack: It’s stupid simple to check, but complacency and decades of experience can get you to drop your guard. I hope your father at least had his gun pointed in a safe direction when it went off. There is some redundancy in the safety rules so if you break one, it’s generally not life threatening, break 2 or more and things can go bad real fast, but as they say, complacency kills. ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2013, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/379 "2013-02-12T01:33:19Z")
I’m pretty complacent and I’ve never killed anybody. Complacency doesn’t kill people, _people_ kill people. Maybe I should lock my complacency up in a complacency safe. Wouldn’t want my kids finding it by accident. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2013, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729/380 "2013-02-12T04:48:35Z")
> [@artemis](#): > > And yet it happens. anyone who’s carrying (cop or civilian) is by definitely preparing for a more-or-less unlikely situation. And my point is that the more-or-less unlikely situation is FAR less likely for a civilian than for a cop, so vanishingly small for most individuals as to make carrying a handgun no more than an added weight so you burn more calories. > [@](#): > > True self-defense with a handgun usually IS a quick-draw situation My firearm safety teacher would barf at thinking like that, but you don’t need any classes, I guess, because you are [Quick Draw McGraw](http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100226234956/hanna-barbera/images/e/e3/QuickDrawMcGrawTitleCard.jpg), or his aft end. Cops don’t do quick draws, or they shouldn’t. They assess the situation first. Even for the gunfighters of the Old West aiming was a more effective survival strategy than drawing quickly. It needn’t take long because you should already be aware of your surroundings. Which, as you suggested, often means you are NOT IN the situation. How the fuck do you think those of us who do not carry manage to live long lives? Two things: Violent things are unlikely to happen to most people and those of us who are unable to avoid bad neighborhoods and such go through them with our eyes wide open to potential danger so we can go the other way. As for carrying a gun cocked and loaded, read **Hentor** ’s link and count how many of those accidents could have been avoided if those guns did not have one in the chamber. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729.md?page=18) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-gun-news-of-the-day-part-1/648729.md?page=20)