911 tape released in FL “accidental” shooting

A Florida man arrested three days ago for “accidentally” shooting his wife in the bathroom while she was bathing their three year old baby.  William Merrill is facing manslaughter charges for pulling the trigger while demonstrating his new laser and conversing with his wife about it.  He claims it was purely an accident, but admits to pulling the trigger.

We won’t know, probably ever, if this really was an accident, but the 911 tapes seem to portray a very sad or very worried man, and at the very least, the children are in better hands currently.  He is unfit to make adult decisions with regards to the safety of his children.

There is a lot of airplay about the evil, dark AK-47 with a “laser scope” accompanied by hundreds of other overblown media and video proof that crazy people shouldn’t have guns.  Every single clip I’ve seen involving the AK-47 surrounding this story, it has been showcased as a full auto weapon, and shown some sort of exploding target. Surely the guy used a full auto version and a well aimed “laser scope” or some other high tech sounding non-existent accessory to commit this “crime”.

I’ll be the first to say this: the guy is an idiot and in no way represents the mainstream gun owner.  Certainly he had no business waving his gun around in a bathroom pointing a laser at his wife and pulling the trigger.  Regardless of whether or not this fool believed that it was unloaded or it that it didn’t have a magazine in it; he should not have been fooling around with a three year old in the bathtub behind his wife, and never should have been pulling the trigger while pointing a weapon at anyone.

This is not another reason to petition your congressman for gun control.  It’s another reason to promote safety while handling weapons, and teach everyone you come in contact with: responsible firearm handling.  Addressing the cause of the problem, not the vehicle that helped usher in the tragedy, is the appropriate course of action.

No sane gun owner will back William Merrill on his fitness for owning a weapon or using one around people, but this does not appear to be a death caused by a gun, it appears to be a death caused by a poor decision, and a lack of adherence to normal handling protocols.

Nothing can bring back this woman: she is an innocent victim.  Whether her husband murdered her, or her death was accidental, she is the poster child for this year and poor firearms handling.  She deserves more than this.  This man will have to live with his decision for the rest of his life; their child is likely to be irreparably affected as well.

Something that seems so simple and ridiculous, still happens thousands of times everyday.  Gun safety is our responsibility, not just a booklet that we buy for fifty cents before we get a handgun or a hunting license.

You don’t point a gun at anyone and pull the trigger unless you intend to kill that person.

You don’t handle weapons improperly or without some adherence to general safety guidelines.

Let this be another reminder for the capability of firearms, and more so, the capability of our actions as gun users.

Promote responsible gun ownership and usage, so this occurrence is less frequent.