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Barr under the gun for accidental shot at receptio
Josey1
Member Posts: 9,598 ✭✭
Barr under the gun for accidental shot at reception
By Stephen Dinan
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Rep. Bob Barr, a board member of the National Rifle Association, was handling an antique .38-caliber pistol at a reception last weekend when it discharged, shooting a bullet through a glass door. Top Stories
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Nobody was injured in the incident, which occurred Friday in an Atlanta suburb, but gun-control advocates say that if it can happen to a leader of the organization that bills itself as the nation's premier gun-safety group, it underscores the dangers of handling handguns.
"It's the quintessential example of not practicing common-sense gun safety," said Amy Stilwell, spokeswoman for the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence. "You're pulling out a gun at a reception. How can that possibly be a good idea?
"It's not just anybody - Bob Barr is a board member of the NRA," Miss Stilwell said. "The NRA - we beg to differ, but they're always talking about how they're the masters of gun safety. This wasn't gun safety."
Mr. Barr, a Georgia Republican, is locked in a tight September 10 primary battle with fellow Rep. John Linder in the newly redrawn 7th District in Georgia, and he has been touting his conservative credentials, including his support for Second Amendment rights.
According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the reception host was handing the 1908 Colt pistol to Mr. Barr when "one of us hit the trigger" and fired the gun into a basement glass door. The host, lobbyist Bruce Widener, said he had removed the magazine from the pistol, but did not realize there was a round in the chamber.
The NRA has three rules for gun safety: Keep the firearm pointed in a safe direction, don't finger the trigger until ready to shoot, and always keep the firearm unloaded until ready to use.
Gun-control advocates said at least one of those rules was obviously violated.
"Shootings like this happen every day in America," said Naomi Seligman, spokeswoman for the Violence Policy Center. "Bob Barr is merely today's poster boy for the hazards of handguns."
Mr. Widener took the full blame for the incident in a statement released by the Barr campaign.
"The gun is almost 100 years old, and I was not aware it was loaded," he said. "Even though the gun was locked in a cabinet, this was not a safe manner in which to store the firearm, and this incident underscores the importance of following proper safety practices."
The NRA agreed the fault lies with Mr. Widener.
"That is the responsibility of the gun owner, so I think the congressman is an unfair target," said Andrew Arulanandam, a spokesman for the association. "He obviously adhered to one of the most important tenets of safe gun handling, and that is keeping the gun pointed in a safe direction."
Mr. Barr said in a statement that the incident "only underscores the importance of proven gun-safety measures, especially when owning and handling antique firearms."
But some questioned the Barr campaign's version of events - including Mr. Linder, who said the facts, as reported in the Journal-Constitution, seem contradictory.
"A board member of the NRA who needs more gun-safety classes and less TV time causes the biggest damage to the pro-gun movement in my career in Congress and then lies about it," Mr. Linder said, noting that he defeated Mr. Widener during an earlier run for the state House.
But Mr. Barr said Mr. Linder is taking "political cheap shots."
"John wasn't there last Friday, and he doesn't know what happened, so it's disappointing that, in his desperate rush to score political points, he would make such irresponsible statements," Mr. Barr said.
http://www.washtimes.com/national/20020808-86319150.htm
Edited by - josey1 on 08/10/2002 12:35:06
By Stephen Dinan
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Rep. Bob Barr, a board member of the National Rifle Association, was handling an antique .38-caliber pistol at a reception last weekend when it discharged, shooting a bullet through a glass door. Top Stories
3 Christians die in Pakistan attack
U.S. pledges protection for Kurds in Iraq
10 charged in U.S. in child porn ring
McConnell rules in Kentucky
In Bay area, toll passes leave privacy gate open
District fireman scoffs at accolades
Alzheimer's disease strikes actor Charlton Heston
Nobody was injured in the incident, which occurred Friday in an Atlanta suburb, but gun-control advocates say that if it can happen to a leader of the organization that bills itself as the nation's premier gun-safety group, it underscores the dangers of handling handguns.
"It's the quintessential example of not practicing common-sense gun safety," said Amy Stilwell, spokeswoman for the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence. "You're pulling out a gun at a reception. How can that possibly be a good idea?
"It's not just anybody - Bob Barr is a board member of the NRA," Miss Stilwell said. "The NRA - we beg to differ, but they're always talking about how they're the masters of gun safety. This wasn't gun safety."
Mr. Barr, a Georgia Republican, is locked in a tight September 10 primary battle with fellow Rep. John Linder in the newly redrawn 7th District in Georgia, and he has been touting his conservative credentials, including his support for Second Amendment rights.
According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the reception host was handing the 1908 Colt pistol to Mr. Barr when "one of us hit the trigger" and fired the gun into a basement glass door. The host, lobbyist Bruce Widener, said he had removed the magazine from the pistol, but did not realize there was a round in the chamber.
The NRA has three rules for gun safety: Keep the firearm pointed in a safe direction, don't finger the trigger until ready to shoot, and always keep the firearm unloaded until ready to use.
Gun-control advocates said at least one of those rules was obviously violated.
"Shootings like this happen every day in America," said Naomi Seligman, spokeswoman for the Violence Policy Center. "Bob Barr is merely today's poster boy for the hazards of handguns."
Mr. Widener took the full blame for the incident in a statement released by the Barr campaign.
"The gun is almost 100 years old, and I was not aware it was loaded," he said. "Even though the gun was locked in a cabinet, this was not a safe manner in which to store the firearm, and this incident underscores the importance of following proper safety practices."
The NRA agreed the fault lies with Mr. Widener.
"That is the responsibility of the gun owner, so I think the congressman is an unfair target," said Andrew Arulanandam, a spokesman for the association. "He obviously adhered to one of the most important tenets of safe gun handling, and that is keeping the gun pointed in a safe direction."
Mr. Barr said in a statement that the incident "only underscores the importance of proven gun-safety measures, especially when owning and handling antique firearms."
But some questioned the Barr campaign's version of events - including Mr. Linder, who said the facts, as reported in the Journal-Constitution, seem contradictory.
"A board member of the NRA who needs more gun-safety classes and less TV time causes the biggest damage to the pro-gun movement in my career in Congress and then lies about it," Mr. Linder said, noting that he defeated Mr. Widener during an earlier run for the state House.
But Mr. Barr said Mr. Linder is taking "political cheap shots."
"John wasn't there last Friday, and he doesn't know what happened, so it's disappointing that, in his desperate rush to score political points, he would make such irresponsible statements," Mr. Barr said.
http://www.washtimes.com/national/20020808-86319150.htm
Edited by - josey1 on 08/10/2002 12:35:06
Comments
While the Colt M1908 .380 may be almost 100 years old, it is not really an "antique" in gun terms. It operates just like any blow-back semi-automatic without a magazine safety. New guns are being sold today that operate the same way. It has nothing to do with "handling antique guns." Who was the idiot who owned this gun that did not know that removing a magazine does not "unload" it? Why would Barr pull the trigger? If it is an "antique," why was it loaded in the first place?
The gun-handling errors here are those I see at every gun show, much to my dismay. While keeping the muzzle pointed in a safe direction prevented any injury in this case, proper gun handling was not followed. Luck was with Barr, more than any common sense or proper gun protocal.
First, you NEVER hand anyone a gun without having checked it. You never hand anyone a gun without handing it over with the action OPEN. Second, when receiving a gun with the action closed in violation of that protocal, the FIRST thing you do is check the chamber, even if you just saw the owner do it. Neither the owner nor Barr followed these simple rules.
This is such good fodder for the anti-gunners to feed the gun phobias of the uninformed. "The gun went off!" No, the gun did not go off, it was fired accidently or inappropriately. Now the antis can say, if this "expert" gun owner/NRA Board member cannot even handle a gun without it "going off," then we need further legislation to prevent these dangerous weapons from being in the hands of anyone.
This stupidity at its highest (lowest?) level. The damage to our cause is huge. As much as I like Barr's politics, if he is this stupid, perhaps he should not continue to hold office.
SUBMARINE SAILOR,TRUCK DRIVER,RUSTY WALLACE FAN AND AS EVERYONE SO OFTEN POINTS OUT PISS POOR TYPIST e-mail:WNUNLEY@USIT.NET
barto
the hard stuff we do right away - the impossible takes a little longer
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Charlie
"It's the stuff dreams are made of Angel"NRA Certified Firearms InstructorMember: GOA, RKBA, NJSPBA, NJ area rep for the 2ndAMPD. njretcop@copmail.com
Found it on another chat site....look at the link and you should be able to figure it out. Somehow I pictured you as looking like Donald Rumsfeld....
muley
**I love the smell of Hoppes #9 in the morning**
so Rep. Barr had no chance to check it. I tend to feel he's getting a bum rap. Suppose you were at a gun show or gun store & the owner of a gun handed it to you & in the process it went off, who would be the one most responsible?
Edited by - gruntled on 08/11/2002 21:24:09