Tonya and PQBON's WebLog
I have great memories from my child hood of target shooting. I loved to shoot rifle's, pistols, air guns, you name it. However, so often accidents happen. I don't think gun control will have an effect on crime, at least not for a long time... that cat is already out of the bag. To control crime you would not only have to control the guns but the ammo since making a gun isn't that hard, if you aren't looking for quality. However, accidents like the one in this article point to the bigger problem. Just like every gun owner this guy is "always very safe with the wepon." So safe he shot him self. He wasn't practicing gun safety. If he was he wouldn't have pulled the trigger but opend the gun so that 1) it couldn't fire by simply pulling the trigger, loaded or not, 2) can easily be identified as not loaded. There in lies the problem the one time you don't follow gun safety rules is the one time something happens. Luckily the gun only shot himself. He could have been pointing the gun any where when it went off. Yes, he was pointing the gun toward the ground like he should have been but since he made one mistake (not properly clearing the chamber) he could just have easily not been pointing the gun in the right direction also.
No that isn't to say that I don't see value in guns. While I don't see self, property, or other defense as valid justification for guns. I do see value in hunting and target shooting. Hence my being on the fence.
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Police were also called to the scene of an accidental shooting early Sunday morning at White Castle, located at the corner of Vincennes and Spring streets in New Albany.
According to a police report, an officer responded and discovered Michael D. Lanham, 26, outside his car in the parking lot with "a large amount of blood" on the side of his leg. An ambulance crew was already at the restaurant.
Lanham told police he was sitting in the drive-thru and ejected a round from the chamber of his .40 caliber Smith and Wesson semi-automatic handgun. He then pulled the magazine out of the weapon, replaced the round, pulled the trigger and accidentally shot himself in the leg. He told police he was talking to his girlfriend, who was also in the car, and "wasn't paying attention."
The bullet entered his left leg through the calf and exited above his ankle.
White Castle employees said he was placing his order into the drive-thru speaker when they heard the gun go off and then a woman scream.
Lanham was taken by ambulance to University of Louisville Hospital where he was treated and released. The police report didn't indicate whether or not Lanham was a New Albany resident.
Police confiscated his weapon, but Lanham was able to pick up the gun after he was released from the hospital.
Lanham had an Indiana handgun permit and according to an NAPD spokesman, committed no crime.
The woman with Lanham at the time of the incident told police the shooting was "entirely accidental" and that he is "always very safe with the weapon."
Posted by pqbon at April 18, 2006 6:07 PM