Thanks for the info.
This is not the first time I’ve heard of people dying because they didn’t know gun etiquette. In fact I’ve heard of it quite a bit.
I admit, I don’t know much about guns or gun etiquette, as I was raised female in a lower middle class urban environment. And it seems most of the tragedies that I’ve heard of, stemming from lack of knowledge of gun etiquette, involve city folks of lower-middle or working class background. So I had a conversation with my neighbor, who was raised in a rural area and learned to handle a rifle when he was around 7 or so. He said that folks in the country learn gun etiquette “along with our reading writing and ‘rithmetic” and would never make such a big mistake as firing at someone they can’t see.
So I asked, what about city folks who acquire guns later for protection?
He replied, they should take gun lessons and pass an exam. But most of them don’t, he said, and that’s why there’s such a mess in the cities.
Next I asked, is there a law that they should take gun lessons and pass an exam?
No! he said adamantly, and added, there shouldn’t be any laws around guns due to the 2nd amendment.
So how do we make sure that anyone who has a gun should know what they’re doing with it?
He said, that should be on the person who provides the gun to the new guy, to do a background check and to advise them to take gun lessons. And it should be on the community, to provide opportunities to take gun lessons and to disarm people who have shown that they shouldn’t have guns. It should all be voluntary, he said, because guns mean freedom.
I didn’t say anything about race but it was in the back of my mind and probably his also. Maybe gun lessons should be more readily available in Black communities? Would the powers-that-be tolerate this, or would a gun club based in the city and composed of Black folks be automatically targeted as a terrorist organization? Are Black people and White people equally likely to die due to violations of gun etiquette, or are White people more likely to get a pass?
I got some ideas here but I’ve said enough for now.
