Jerking the Trigger

If our policy makers didn’t learn everything that they think they know about firearms from watching TV and movies, they might realize…

• That sound suppressors should be treated as a safety device and their ownership should be encouraged.
• That collapsible stocks and pistol grips should be seen as an accessibility aid that make firearms safer and more useable for a wider range of people like women, children, and those with disabilities.
• That face to face firearm sales aren’t seedy back alley deals that must be done away with but rather lawful transactions between citizens.
• That many police officers and military members are not firearm experts.
• That shotguns are more difficult to shoot (especially under stress) than an AR-15. Yes, you do have to aim them.
• That shooting any firearm into the air is a terrible idea and that shooting through your front door is even worse.
• That it almost certainly takes more than shot to incapacitate someone and thus stop the threat they are posing to you. In fact, it might take 10 or more shots.
• That guns generally don’t just go off on their own.
• That gunfights aren’t fair and don’t have any set of rules, procedures, or decorum.
• That children are safer when they are taught to handle firearms safely and to value human life.
• That the police aren’t always just around the corner.
• That hollow points actually make everyone safer (except the dirt bag who is being shot).
• That full automatic fire is actually a liability in most cases.
• That the staggering majority of firearm owners are good people.
• That the idea tackling an attacker who is reloading isn’t as easy as it sounds.
• That folding stocks are really only useful for storing your gun.
• That shooting from the hip doesn’t work nearly as well as they think.

Perhaps most importantly, if our representatives would stop getting their firearm information from the TV and movies, Congresswomen Carolyn McCarthy might finally learn what a barrel shroud is.