This past Friday, while our church teams were cooking hamburgers and hotdogs, giving out backpacks filled with school supplies to the students at the EME Apartments on Central Park Road, I was conducting a funeral. You may have read or heard about this on the news. A young man, 23 years old, died in a tragic accidental shooting. According to the report it was his friend who fired the fatal shot. It was accidental but still tragic and beyond sad. I asked myself what can I do in such circumstances? This may not be much but here is my effort to honor and remember those who have lost their lives. Given the prevalence of guns in our society, I thought this would be timely and hopefully, helpful. Kind of like a pastoral public service announcement.
There are Four Basic Gun Safety Rules. Four basic, easy to memorize, easy to implement, easy to learn and teach rules. All four are important and all four could potentially save lives. You cannot get a concealed weapons permit without knowing these four gun safety rules. In my way of thinking, no one should have access to owning or even holding a gun without knowing these four safety rules. My wife, Janie, does not own a gun nor does she want to own or shoot a gun. I still make sure she knows these rules because we have a gun in our house. It is a very common saying that there are no “accidental” gun discharges, only negligent. My goal here is not to point a finger at anyone. My hope is to raise our level of awareness, the need for training and accountability that would lower or even remove the risk of accidental shootings.
Here are the four basic safety rules. #1. Always treat a gun as if it is loaded. Always. You assume it is loaded and never takes someone’s word that it is or is not loaded. I have a friend who talks our loud saying “I am handing you an empty gun, I have checked it but you should check it too. #2. Never point the muzzle of a gun at something you are not willing to kill or destroy. Never in play or in jest. Never. The safe direction for the muzzle may be up, down or downrange. But never at something you are not willing to destroy. #3. Keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot. That means keeping your finger away from the trigger while loading, unloading or even handling. #4. Always be sure of your target and what is behind or beyond your target. Some bullets can travel for 3 miles; shotgun pellets can travel the length of 2 football fields.
It would not be asking too much to commit to repeating these 4 gun safety rules every time we touch our guns. If you own a gun, make sure you know these 4 safety rules and teach them to anyone else in your home.
The young man will be remembered and he will be missed. I thought I could honor him and his memory by knowing, practicing and sharing these 4 gun safety rules.
Blessings,
Pastor Tom
