Some Gun Safety Features and Techniques: A Guide to the Uninitiated

Gun safety is a hot topic in the news these days. But to paraphrase a quote from The Princess Bride, it may not mean what you think it means. Gun control organizations have been trying to co-opt the expression, although their stock in trade seems to be the equivalent of abstinence-based sex education. In my opinion, telling people to minimize risks involving firearms by avoiding them completely is no more useful than telling them to avoid STDs and pregnancy by completely abstaining from sex.

What does empower people to make safe choices is honest, frank information which is technically accurate.

Good News
The good news. which you are unlikely to receive from the media and politically motivated parties, is that firearms accidents are a very small percentage of fatal accidents. You're 5 times more likely to drown than be killed accidentally with a gun. You're FIFTY times more likely to be killed in an automobile accident. So convincing drivers to focus on driving instead of their cell phones is much more likely to keep you safe that worrying excessively about firearms accidents.

Also, accidental firearm fatalities are at an 80+ year LOW right now.

Further Improvement
Clearly, the trend here is very good. Yet, there are things that can be done to further reduce firearm accident rates. In the remainder of this article, I will describe some options and my considered opinion regarding their usefulness. My background for doing so is several decades of safe firearms ownership and use. I was also certified to teach basic handgun and rifle classes for about 15 years, classes covering both safety and basic marksmanship. 

I invite anybody with technical knowledge of the field to respond, positively OR negatively, to any of the information that I present in this post. Any and all errors WILL be immediately corrected.


I'll be breaking down firearm safety options into three basic categories: 

• safety training - learning how to own and use guns safely

• firearms safety technologies - firearm features intended to improve safety

• storage - how to store a firearm safely (Spoiler alert: trigger locks are AWFUL but there are excellent options)

Safety Training
There is good news here too, for firearms safety is much easier to learn than automobile safety. Operating a vehicle is a complex task, particularly where interacting with other drivers, traffic conditions and laws. There are three basic rules for safe gun handling (cleaning, transport), with additional rules that come into play when you're actually going to be shooting.

The three paramount gun safety rules are

• ALWAYS keep guns pointed in a safe direction, a direction where if they accidentally fires they will not injure a person or animal. NEVER play around by pointing a gun at a person or a pet even if you are "sure" it is unloaded. The consequences of being wrong are just too awful.

• Keep your finger off the trigger (and outside of the trigger guard) until you are ready to shoot. When you see experienced shooters handling firearms, you will not see them touching the trigger...typically, they will have their trigger finger indexed along the frame, like this.

• Keep the gun unloaded until ready to use.

Obeying these three simple rules at all times makes firearms accidents virtually impossible. Schools should be teaching these rules. These rules save lives!

Firearms Safety Technologies
The primary intent of these features is to reduce the likelihood of a firearm accidentally discharging and injuring someone. Some features are also mentioned to make guns safer around the untrained but going too far in that direction will result in them being less reliable. In a gun whose purpose is self defense, that will be unappealing to the firearm community.

N.B. The presence of any of these features is not intended to make violation of the three safety rules mentioned above OK. They do not mitigate unsafe behavior.

Drop safety (GOOD) - Modern handguns are, as a rule, engineered in such a way that they will not fire if dropped while loaded. Rifles and shotguns may not be.

External safety switches (SOMETIMES GOOD) - A safety on a rifle or shotgun helps to compensate for the fact that they are less drop-safe than a handgun. A handgun used for competitions can also be made a bit safer with an external safety because they will be handled extensively and possibly drawn from a holster.

On a handgun intended for self defense, their usefulness is more subjective. A very good argument can be made for openly carried guns (e.g., in a police officer's holster) being equipped with an external safety. A bad guy gaining control of it will be unlikely to shoot quickly because he won't know for a few vital seconds why the gun won't fire and how to disengage the safety. On a gun being carried concealed, it is unlikely that the gun's presence will be known by assailants and under stress present the disadvantage of being one more thing you have to remember.

Magazine disconnect (POSSIBLY BAD) - Some handguns, such as the Browning Hi-Power are equipped with a magazine disconnect. This means that even when a round is chambered, if the magazine is removed the gun theoretically cannot fire.

Most firearms are manufactured without magazine disconnects because in some circumstances, that feature can be an impediment to defensive use. Given that the technology for magazine disconnects has existed since the early 20th century, the likelihood of their use increasing is low. Unlike drop safety technology, any perceived gain in safety is overshadowed by decreased usefulness.

Loaded chamber indicators (GENERALLY OK) - Many modern handguns have the top of their extractor colored a bright red. This means that if a cartridge is loaded into the gun, the gun's loaded status is somewhat visible. Since this doesn't affect reliability there is not much reason to oppose it. However, thinking that a gun is unloaded does not make violating safety rules acceptable.

Storage
There are a number of ways to secure a gun from unauthorized use

Trigger locks (AWFUL) - People without technical understanding of guns love trigger locks but most people who do have technical knowledge dislike them. The most serious objection to them is that they violate the safety rule about not touching the trigger and can still allow the gun to be fired. I have been in a class where a training counselor worked the trigger lock loose enough that he was able to activate the trigger of a revolver very well. In this photo, the trigger lock is in front of the trigger of a semi-automatic with a very short trigger pull. I would NOT have this in my house.

Cable locks (VERY GOOD) - Here is where some technical knowledge can be used to create a very safe, very inexpensive solution. A modern consumer firearm cannot be fired with the action open. This is because the cartridge being fired must be completely enclosed within metal containment until pressure drops when the bullet has exited the muzzle or is about to do so. Most guns lock the chamber and deactivate the trigger until the action is locked. By feeding a cable lock through the mechanism in such a way that it cannot fully close like this, the gun can be rendered very secure.

Safes / lock boxes / locked containers (EXCELLENT) - These may not be cheap but they are the best option for safe storage of firearms because they completely contain them. You can obtain a locking container or lock box from most sporting goods stores for as little as $30-$60. A full gun locker can be had for a little over $100. A gun safe is more expensive but can be fire resistant and theft resistant.

Some states like Washington state exempt gun safes from sales tax, thus encouraging safe storage.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. I hope that the information contained in it will be useful to you and assist you in either safely enjoying firearm use or understanding some of the technical considerations relating to their safe use.

President Obama and Guns

Dear President Obama,

I understand that you are once again trying to show “leadership” on gun control. Let’s talk about how to do that.

First off, let’s talk about what leadership is. It’s setting an example by what you do, NOT making rules for people you “manage” (rule) while you yourself are exempt from them. That’s a mistake that all sorts of people make, in business and in politics. The gun control movement is rife with people who are clearly not living under the rules they want to impose on others and this may be one of the biggest reasons why they have become politically ineffectual.

•   Pope Francis saying that people cannot call themselves Christians if they manufacture or own guns, while he is surrounded by bodyguards carrying…guns.

•  Michael Bloomberg and Shannon Watts rejecting the need for a  “good guy with a gun” while accompanied by bodyguards with…guns.

• Mark Giffords buying an AR15 right after standing beside his wife Gabby and saying that “the people” don’t need AR15s

• Dianne Feinstein constantly lobbying for gun control laws while being one of the rare Californians with a concealed carry license

To reiterate, these are not leaders, these are people lobbying for rules that affect the little people but not them.

So how can you show leadership on gun control? There is only one way. Show us by example. If you want gun restrictions in place, apply those restrictions to yourself first.

If you want to ban or restrictively license handguns, do not allow the Secret Service to carry handguns.

If you want to ban or limit ownership of semiautomatic rifles, do not allow the Secret Service to carry semiautomatic rifles, let alone the fully automatic weapons they actually carry.

Better yet, restrict your protection detail to the double barreled shotguns Joe Biden says are adequate for self defense.

After all, a good guy with a gun isn’t any good against a bad guy with a gun, right? So all those guns the Secret Service carries are more dangerous to you, those brave officers and their families than any illusion of protection they provide.

Making OUR Country Better

The BIG mistake mistake planners and improvers make here in the US is that they keep trying to force one narrative or plan down our throats.

The reality is that we're an independent lot and will never accept having things shoved down our throat. Ever. Some always forget, especially when someone else's oxe is being gore but it always bothers enough of us to fail.

That is why we seem stuck in a rut or not making progress. The approach most take is fucking stupid.

Guns ARE useful for self protection. Abortion/birth control *are* crucial to self determination. Which adults sleep with or marry other adults is no one's business but theirs. Marijuana is no more harmful than beer but we've done incalculable damage via government corruption, asset forfeiture, contempt for unfair laws. Prohibition II failed too.

Do you want to help make our country the awesome leader it can be? Stop trying to force one narrative or plan down everyone's throat and find the common goals that inspire everyone and build from there. Because doing something useful sure beats the current useless situation.

Some thoughts about voting this week

Most everyone I know here in the US is voting this week. And while I think participation in the voting process is a crucial duty in a free society, I also think that most people do it wrong and would like to urge
you to consider how you pick your candidates and initiative positions.

A lot of people seem obssessed with setting up a hierarchy of some kind, roughly broken down into people in charge, in varying degrees, and people who should just do what they're told and not complain. I think this ties in in a horrid way with the fact that people don't think very clearly about the distinction between leadership and management.

Leadership is about showing people the way forward and letting them choose for themselves. Management is about making people do what you think is best for them and for society as a whole. And people elected into
office as managers typically exclude themselves from the rules that they enact into law. Leadership is awkward and inefficient but is the way forward in a free society. Managing people is efficient but stifles
freedom.

Unfortunately, I believe that most people who are voting are, consciously or unconsciously, voting to elect a strong manager rather than a leader. Maybe they are frightened by the media and their constant panics and alarums (Ebola! Gun violence! Abortion! Gay people subverting family values! Drugs!). Maybe they fancy themselves smarter and wiser than their fellow citizens and want them managed in a sensible fashion. In any case, I would argue strongly that these partisan voters, party line Democrats and Republicans, are
what are dragging us deeper and deeper into idiocy every year.

Please vote but only for real leaders. And where initiatives are concerned, don't vote to "show those people I don't like who's boss". We've had enough petty vindictiveness, thank you very much.

Why I support firearm background checks...and oppose Washington Initiative 594

I am a long time gun owner and was a firearms safety instructor for over 10 years. Where guns are concerned, I am all about safety and responsibility. I support background checks.

But Washington's Initiative 594 is bad legislation and I am encouraging friends and anyone who will listen to vote against it.

Here is the short version of why I oppose I594:

• most sales and transfers in WA state already include a background check, a process developed by gun owners to police themselves. I 594 is a punitive attempt to punish and hinder a civil liberty the 1% dislikes, primarily funded by the 1% (e.g., Bloomberg).
  
• I594 requires all sales AND TRANSFERS to be completed through a firearms licensee and the DOL. Note the word transfers carefully...it includes non-sales such as inheriting a firearm and loaning a firearm to a person for most purposes, e.g., safety classes.
  
• law enforcement organizations also oppose I594 because they do not feel it necessary and because it can interfere with their duties

• I594 takes the state a step closer to California's crazy gun laws by registering legally owned firearms and prohibiting private transfers

More details:
Why would someone who thinks background checks are a good idea be against I594? For starters because most gun transactions in Washington state already include some form of background check. This includes all sales through licensed dealers, as well as sales taking place in the state's largest gun shows. Yes, despite all the news fear and panic about closing the so-called "gun show loophole", the gun community has complied with laws and instituted their own practices involving background checks that already accomplish most of what this initiative claims to be seeking.

Most gun sales in the state now involve background checks (FFLs, large gun shows, most private sales).

• Purchases through dealers include the federal NICS check.

• Purchases at Washington Arms Collector shows involve background checks. You cannot become a WAC member without successfully completing a background check.
• Private individuals can also effectively verify the background of the person they are selling to by verifying that they possess a state Concealed Pistol License. This is a common practice...every private sale of a firearm that I have made involved verifying and recording CPL data

Here's an ironic part. With WAC and other gun shows already working in good faith to restrict firearm sales to those with a clean background, legislators in Olympia have repeatedly attempted to make them responsible for preventing all sales within several blocks of the show. Whether the participants were at the show or not.

I 594 (text available here) requires all sales AND TRANSFERS in WA state to go through a licensed dealer and the Department of Licensing. What constitutes a transfer?That is a very important question and one that the initiative's sponsors and backers are treating as a minor quibble. I594 includes some transfers such as inherited firearms and temporary transfers for firearms safety classes. Yes, the people who are trying to co-opt the "gun safety" label not only don't teach gun safety (unless you count abstinence training), they are now making it more difficult for people to obtain firearms safety classes.

Note that the background check at a dealer will involve tracking firearms sales and transfers through the department of licensing. It does not provide for the costs of this new DOL task. In any case, it effectively
creates a mechanism for starting to register all firearms sales and transfers in Washington state. This is a very bad thing because the primary thing that registration facilitates is confiscation.

Who opposes I594? A lot of people, including the majority of law enforcement. The Washington Council of Police and Sheriffs favor the more sensible I591and oppose I594. So does the Washington State Law Enforcement Firearms Instructors Association (here). Both note the potential for I594 to create a firearms registry (useless if it doesn't, a civil liberties infringement if it does).

Initiative 594 is bad law. Please check for yourself and vote against it.

When is Misogyny OK?

 Society is becoming very conscious of the way women are treated these days, which is a Very Good Thing. Having a culture where anybody can be subjected to threats of violence or sexual abuse or stalking is pathologically repulsive. That's NOT behavior I think we should tolerate; it's not the world that I want to leave behind as our legacy for future generations!

Unfortunately, concern over these issues is strangely selective. There's a lot of focus on women on the Internet being harassed and receiving threats from antisocial cretins, which absolutely makes sense. But what about a Congressional candidate who is soliciting nude photos and sex tapes for a teenage girl and blatantly posting all sort of ugly comments about her?

Does it matter whether he is a Republican or Democrat? Should it?

Does it matter whether she is a cosplayer or engaging in some other activity he disapproves of? Should it?

Mike Dickinson is a Congressional candidate in Virginia who seems comfortable posting all manner of ugly, repulsive comments on Twitter under the painfully ironic handle @VoteMike2014. He happens to be a Democrat

One of the latest Internet tempests in a teacup is people going berzerk about a teenager from Texas who was photographed after hunting a lion. Dickinson's Tweets below were screen-captured this morning.

Will this sort of ugliness get as strong a response at SDCC leering at cosplayers? I sure as Hell hope so...

Improving Seattle Traffic

This morning's rush hour commute in the Seattle area included, predictably, numerous Washington State Patrol officers checking peoples' speed with radar. Why aren't more people complaining about the ridiculousness of SLOWING DOWN Seattle traffic? If anything, I would argue that Seattle traffic needs to go faster and drivers become more skilled.

Towards that end, I am proposing the creation of a new political party or organization, whose purpose will be the improvement of traffic in the Seattle area. These will be the initial steps in our process, not in any particular order:

1. Get as many dumb people as possible off the road: people who cannot drive without slowing down traffic or endangering other people. For example:

• left lane campers: drivers who are unable to use multi-lane road intelligently

• creepers: drivers who travel busy roads at 10 mph or less looking for a turn

• blind optimists: drivers who pull out of driveways in a furious rush, without checking for pedestrians and then don't accelerate, causing traffic behind them to have to brake

• anyone driving intoxicated or operating electronic devices in an unsafe fashion

2. Washington state should offer an enhanced drivers license for drivers who get additional training to make them more skillful than the average 17 year old. As an incentive to acquire this higher level of driving skill, only drivers with this endorsement would be allowed to use the passing lane and HOV lane on freeways

3. With the average driving skill level improved, freeway speeds could be raised 10-15 mph in ideal conditions.

4. No vehicle or driver incapable of safe travel at 70-75 mph would be allowed in the passing lane or HOV lane.