Firearms Safety and the Home

Firearms Safety and the Home

Any law enforcement officer that has spent any time on the job would be able to share stories of accidents with firearms in the homes of the citizens they serve. I was witness to such accidents while in that business and feel the need to share some of those experiences. I hope to help you understand how some of these accidents happen and especially how to avoid them.

Also there is the issue of you and your children being in homes where firearms might be stored and what to do about safety if firearms are being mishandled.

Weather you own firearms or not, they are all around us and we need to be cognizant of how to behave around them. Always remember that complacency around firearms will kill. Nearly all accidents I am aware of come from complacent behavior and thinking around guns.

Here are six unfortunate examples:

1 Don’t Tell My Parents!

Officers from our department responded to a residence where two young boys, approximate ages eight and ten, were left home while Mom and Dad went out for the evening. The one boy is a friend and doesn’t live there. The boy that lives there wants to show off his dad’s gun (.45 semi-automatic pistol) and goes to his parents room to retrieve it. While they try to figure out how to operate it, the gun goes off striking the visiting boy in the thigh.

There was considerable pain and bleeding involved, but what the boys were worried about most was getting in trouble when Mom and Dad got home. They immediately went about trying to conceal what had happened. Of course there was no concealing the bleeding and smell of burnt powder. After a while the boys thought they better call for help and called the police department.

Luckily the bullet didn’t strike the femur or the femoral artery or the story would have ended much differently than it did. The boy survived and recovered very well. Dad felt like a heel (as he should) but was very grateful that things didn’t turn out worse than they did.

#2 No One Will Ever Know

One evening our office got an obligatory call from the hospital reporting a man in their emergency room had been shot. Our officer responded and here is what he found.

The emergency room doctor told the officer that the victim, a man in his forties, was brought in by his wife. The man told the doctor that some stranger shot him while he was pruning his apple tree. He said the man shot him with a shotgun from the field adjacent to his back yard. He had no idea who it was and that he was just glad to be alive.

The officer spoke with the man and got the same story. The officer sent other officers from the police department to the man’s home to investigate further. What they found by way of evidence at the residence and on the victim told a much different story.

The wound on the victim (through the left shoulder) indicated a single projectile rather than the many pellets a shotgun would emit. Also the victim’s shirt, as well as the skin around the wound, indicated a near contact wound rather than from across the yard, a distance of some one hundred feet.

At the residence officers initially found prunings and a pair of loppers under the apple tree all covered with blood. Also a trail of blood leading from the tree into the garage where the man and his wife had apparently concealed a jacket and a high powered rifle behind some wood which was also drenched in blood.

Investigators returned to the hospital a day or two later to talk with the man who admitted he had been cleaning his rifle when it went off striking him in the shoulder. He then devised a plan to conceal his error by staging the loppers and prunings (which he clipped while bleeding) so no one would know what actually happened, thus saving him embarrassment.

#3 Is This Your Gun?

A boy had his friend over to play. While in the boy’s bedroom the other boy found a BB gun in the closet. He picked up the BB gun and asked, “is this your gun?” At that point the gun went off. The BB struck the boy’s three year old sister in the chest, traveling between her ribs, through one lung, and lodged by the back of the heart. The little girl was in the hospital for a considerable amount of time but recovered.

#4 OOPS!!!

A fourteen year old boy is in his 9th grade shop class at the local junior high school. He is out of the area he is supposed to be and the shop teacher calls him on it. While being told he needs to go back to his seat, and standing in the posture a fourteen your old would be while being scolded by a teacher, ie his hands in his pockets, the .25 semi automatic pistol in his pocket goes off. The bullet passes through his zipper and strikes the floor. The bullet then breaks into many little projectiles striking a few of the other children in the immediate vicinity. No one is injured beyond a scratch.

OOPS Again!!!

A man in his fifties is at his brother’s house in the kitchen for a visit. This man is making the same mistake as the boy mentioned previously. He has a loaded pistol in his pocket and he has his hand in his pocket at the same time. The 9 millimeter pistol discharges and the bullet exits his pants by his knee. It then strikes the floor by his foot. The floor is made of wood covered with linoleum. The bullet passes through the floor on it’s downward trip toward the basement family room. No one is down there at the time and there are no injuries.

#6 A Party Gone Bad

A young man was throwing a party one night and had all his friends over. There was music, laughter, beer, and a good time being had by all.

The young man throwing the party leaves the party for a few minutes to go look at the shotgun he had just bought that day which he kept in his room. While he was looking at the shotgun, the door opened and a friend came in. The friend commented how cool the gun was. When the young man went to show the gun to his friend, it went off striking the friend in the face.

Emergency medical services responded to the 911 call immediately, but there was nothing that could be done. The friend had instantly been killed.

What Is Happening Here?

All of these incidents have in common the violation of the various but simple rules of firearms safety. Unfortunately, these are just a few experiences I was involved in while I worked for the city. They are by no means comprehensive of the accidents that occurred while I was there, and unfortunately, we see these accidents in the news all the time. All of them are avoidable.

Lets look at these incidents and see what happened. To most, it will be obvious.

In the story "Don’t Tell My Parents", the father had a loaded .45 caliber pistol (“hidden” so the children could not find it) to protect his family. Unsecured firearms will always be found by children. I have heard from some that say their children have been trained to never touch their guns. I was one of those children. I knew where dad’s .38 was and fooled with it while my parents were gone. I think to this day if my dad were still with us and was aware of that, he would skin me alive! I believe he would also rethink his weapon security methods.

In the story "No One Will Ever Know", the man was getting ready to clean his gun on the back patio. He had his cleaning kit, his rags, a good chair, a loaded rifle, and plenty of beer. Alcohol and firearms do not mix!!! I have seen it time and time again!!! If you are working with firearms, do not drink.

Also, who brings a loaded rifle back from a hunting trip. The law at the that time stated that firearms in vehicles had to be unloaded. This gun was transported home from the hunting trip in loaded condition and laid about the house in that condition unsecured until he accidentally shot himself with it.

In “Is This Your Gun?” there was an unsecured firearm. OOPS! Is a BB gun a firearm? Not in the literal sense of the term, but it does the same thing. It emits a projectile at a high rate of speed with enough energy to kill birds and other small animals. Should it be left unsecured in a loaded condition in a youths room. No.

In both “OOPS! And OOPS Again!” both made the mistake in thinking that a pocket is a good way to carry a loaded pistol. Think of how many times a day your hands go into your pockets. Each and every time you do this with a loaded gun in your pocket is an opportunity for disaster. If there is anything in my pocket, keys, pocket knife, money, etc. I grab it with my hand when my hand goes in my pocket. I guarantee you that if I carried a pistol in my pants pocket, there would be a problem.

In “OOPS!” What was the young man doing with a pistol in his pocket in the first place? What about carrying it to school? Where did he get it?!

Well, he waited till late at night when his parents were asleep. He belly crawled into their room, took the keys from Mom’s purse, opened the gun cabinet, AND STOLE THEIR GUN!!! He wanted protection while at school. I have often thought what a blessing it was that it went off when it did. Who knows what he might have gotten involved in later. The potential for harm when the accident occurred was bad enough. Interestingly, this young man had been told not to fool with the guns too.

The cabinet this family used was inadequate to secure firearms. It locked alright, but it had a glass front and a simple key to open it.

In “A Party Gone Bad” just about everything that can go wrong did. Here was an 18 year old young man having a beer bust party. No parents at home. The house was rocking with lots of beer and youth that had no business being there. A shotgun is being handled by someone with no training, experience, and because of the alcohol, no sense. Why was the gun loaded? I don’t know.

Another thing to remember is that in all of these and any accident I investigated, the trigger was pulled. In the accounts mentioned, I used the phraseology that the firearm discharged. Well, they discharged in all cases I am aware of, because someone pulled the trigger.
Remember what I said earlier? Complacency with firearms kills.

So What Are We To Do?

My intention was not to give a complete course on firearms safety in this article. It is however my intent to help you have safe homes free of the hazards of firearms accidents. Is that always possible? I think it is.

I own firearms myself. I enjoy target shooting, clay pigeons, hunting, and competition. I just returned from a successful hinting trip a week ago. We have five children and eight grandchildren and as I have said before, they can all be in the house at the same time. Can they all be watched at all times. No.

Here Is What We Have Done And A Few Suggestions

First realize that firearms are dangerous and if not handled properly, accidents can and will happen.

Talk to your family about your owning firearms if you have them. Teach them why it is important to not get into the guns and ammunition.

Teach your family members that if they are in a home where guns are being mishandled they should leave and waste no time doing it.

Keep ammunition locked up and separate from the guns.

Keep the guns locked away in adequate safes or lock boxes.

Do not drink when firearms are involved.

If your children are interested in shooting sports, teach them and involve them in appropriate shooting activities when they are of appropriate age.

If you have a permit to carry a gun, use a good holster system that covers the trigger and trigger guard. A good holster will not allow the weapon to fall out. About a year ago there was a story in the news of a man that dropped his pistol in a restroom at a fast food establishment. The gun went off and shattered a toilet. I will talk more of concealed carry in another article.

Always live by these four rules of firearms safety.
1. Treat all guns as though they are always loaded.
2. Don’t allow the muzzle to point at anything you don’t want to shoot.
3. Keep your finger off the trigger until ready to fire.
4. Be aware of your target and what is beyond it.

These four rules are not comprehensive in the least, yet they were violated in all incidence of accidental discharge I was witness to. We will discuss general firearms safety more in the future, but if you remember these four rules and always live by them, you will safely handle firearms.

Firearm Storage and Security

I did some research and found an interesting web site called http://www.kidsandguns.org/. If you own guns and have children, I think you need to look at some of the frightening statistics cited on this and other web sites. This site discusses statistics about children and firearms accidents. Some of us own firearms with the intention of protecting our families. If the guns are misused, we are failing in our duty.

Among other things it says:
► Among homes with children and firearms, 40% had at least one unlocked firearm and 13% kept their unlocked firearm loaded or stored with ammunition.
The RAND Corporation, "Guns in the Family: Firearm Storage Patterns in U.S. Homes with Children," March 2001.
► Among gun-owning households with children:
28% do not always keep guns locked in a secure place.
25% only "occasionally" lock and store the bullets separately from the gun.
48% do not regularly make sure that guns are equipped with child safety or other trigger locks.
Peter Hart Research, "Americans’ Attitudes on Children’s Access to Guns: A National Poll for Common Sense about Kids and Guns," July 1999.
► In 30% of handgun-owning households, the gun was stored unlocked and loaded at the time of the survey.
National Institute of Justice, "Guns in America: National Survey on Private Ownership and Use of Firearms," May 1997.

If you need to keep a loaded firearm in the home, use a good system to secure the weapon that will allow you quick access and at the same time restrict others from being able to gain access.
In my law enforcement carrier I needed to have a loaded gun available while at home. I have a safe to keep the guns (and other valuables) locked up, but gaining access is slow. So I got a small locking gun safe that holds only one pistol. It uses a four finger combination method to open it. You just place your fingers on the pad and type in the combination you set. The combination can be changed as often as you like. Should you forget the combination or should the batteries die (which last about a year), you use a key to open it. If someone is trying to figure out the combination by trial and error, the safe will lock up and require you to use the key to get into it. You will then have to re-program the combination. I keep the key in a box with other spare keys in my regular safe. It is a fast and very secure system. I bolted it to the shelf in my closet from inside the box so it can not be easily removed.




There are many versions of these safes on the market that use different methods to access your firearms. You can spend as little or as much as you want depending on your needs and ability to pay. The small pistol safe in my closet cost about one hundred dollars. A simple, but secure key lock arrangement of like size can be purchased for less than fifty dollars.














My larger safe is more in the seventeen hundred dollar price range, but larger gun lock boxes can be purchased for just a couple hundred dollars. A friend of mine gave me a set of lockers from a school. They would be great in the basement to secure firearms if I choose to use them that way. If you don’t have much money, get creative!




















There are all kinds of locking safes or gun storage boxes available at all price ranges in your favorite sporting goods stores. Of course the stores that don’t sell firearms won’t have them, but you can get them in stores like Cabella’s, Sportman’s Warehouse, Lowe’s, Home Depot, and many furniture stores. Of course furniture stores will be most interested in selling high end safes that are also decorative and thus more expensive.

Training

I worry that many good people get interested in owning firearms and because they are adults, feel they don’t need training.

I have been asked many times, “should I get a gun?”, because of some crime (or many crimes) that had recently occurred. What is the answer? If you want to and you are willing to involve yourself in some training. Now that sounds ominous, doesn’t it? TRAINING! Not really. There are several avenues a person can pursue that will give them the needed knowledge and experience to safely own and handle firearms.

When I was 14 I wanted to hunt ducks and pheasants with my friends. In Utah, hunter safety was a requirement for children under 16. I learned a great deal and have had a great deal of fun hunting with friends then and now. What I gained mostly from hunter safety training is a great respect, for not only the safety issues associated with owning firearms, but also an appreciation for the rights we enjoy in this country. For More information about Utah Hunter Safety go to http://wildlife.utah.gov/huntereducation/options.php. Another site that has information for several states is http://www.hunter-ed.com/.

I realize that not everyone is interested in hunting and there are several other sources for firearms training. This one, http://www.nssf.org/lit/FRH.pdf, is a great little online power point presentation you can view about your responsibility as a gun owner and walks you right through securing firearms in the home. I really liked this one and think anyone can benefit from viewing it. It only takes a few minutes.

The National Rifle Association has many firearms training programs available. If you go to http://nrahq.org/education/Training/basictraining.asp you will see a little more of what is available. The NRA’s experience and recourses are extensive. Look the site over. There is much to be learned, even if you don’t own or are not interested in owning firearms. There are other organizations that can help as well in your communities. The internet is a great recourse for locating training programs and organizations.

FINALLY!!!

Now that I have written the longest blog in human history, let me close by giving this last bit of advice about training.

Many states allow it’s citizens to have concealed weapons permits. Should you have one? Maybe. Up to you. If you choose to get one you enter an area of great responsibility. If you carry a gun for protection, realize that just pulling it out under the wrong circumstance can land you in jail. Firing a weapon in the wrong circumstance can land you in prison for years. We all watch TV and have preconceived notions of when using deadly force is justified. Many of those notions are wrong and in fact (by statute) constitute criminal acts.

If you are going to carry a gun for personal protection, learn the law, know the law, and be able to recite the law relative to a citizens right to defend themselves using deadly force. Don’t assume you understand what you have memorized or that your interpretation of the law stands on it’s own. The states and nations highest courts are still debating those issues and will into the foreseeable future. Police officers at all levels continue their training and legal updates frequently. Citizens need to do the same.

I enjoy a day at the range nearly as much as I enjoy a day in the field hunting. I will own firearms as long as I am able to safely use them. I hope you are able to enjoy the same sports and protection in your lives in such a way that all will be safe in your homes. I hope your children will be able to learn from you and enjoy the same sporting fun.

Happy And Safe Shooting!!! ;-)