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You are here: Home / Gun Issues / Ammosexuals / Gun Idiot Of The Day: Sean Hannity Edition

Gun Idiot Of The Day: Sean Hannity Edition

by Adam L Silverman|  March 16, 201710:08 pm| 116 Comments

This post is in: Ammosexuals, Gun nuts, Open Threads, Silverman on Security, Not Normal, Our Failed Media Experiment

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If you are into shooting sports, hunting, carry a firearm for professional reasons, and/or have one for self defense: DO NOT DO THIS!!!!

That time Sean Hannity pulled a gun on Juan Williams. (He was just showing off!) https://t.co/bf3oPBrEZa pic.twitter.com/AAOpCop2ZM

— McKay Coppins (@mckaycoppins) March 16, 2017

I would like to take a moment and, in the name of Colonel Jeff Cooper, highlight this part of CNN’s reporting (emphasis mine):

“Sean Hannity has been trained in firearm safety since he was 11 years old and has a license to carry a gun in five states, including New York,” Fox News said in a statement to CNNMoney. “The situation was thoroughly investigated and it was found that no one was put in any danger.” (The spokesperson said the incident took place in October 2016.)

I just checked, but our resident legal eagles should feel free to check in and correct me, but NY State does not have a brandishing statute. Instead it is covered under menacing.

New York Penal Law § 120.14 Menacing in the second degree

A person is guilty of menacing in the second degree when:

1. He or she intentionally places or attempts to place another person in reasonable fear of physical injury, serious physical injury or death by displaying a deadly weapon, dangerous instrument or what appears to be a pistol, revolver, rifle, shotgun, machine gun or other firearm;  or

2. He or she repeatedly follows a person or engages in a course of conduct or repeatedly commits acts over a period of time intentionally placing or attempting to place another person in reasonable fear of physical injury, serious physical injury or death;  or

3. He or she commits the crime of menacing in the third degree in violation of that part of a duly served order of protection, or such order which the defendant has actual knowledge of because he or she was present in court when such order was issued, pursuant to article eight of the family court act, section 530.12 of the criminal procedure law, or an order of protection issued by a court of competent jurisdiction in another state, territorial or tribal jurisdiction, which directed the respondent or defendant to stay away from the person or persons on whose behalf the order was issued.

Menacing in the second degree is a class A misdemeanor.

What Hannity did is one of the stupidest, most irresponsible, and down right dangerous things you can do with a firearm. There is a reason that to intentionally draw and aim a firearm at someone outside of an actual self defense situation/defensive use is a crime of some type in every jurisdiction in the US. It is to keep utter, absolute, complete morons like Sean Hannity from doing something this stupid and being so utterly dumb as to think it was a joke.

This is not an anti-gun issue, this is an anti-stupidity issue! There is a reason that every firearms instructor I know, and have heard of, will not let new students even touch a firearm until they learn Colonel Cooper’s four rules:

Rule One: All guns are always loaded.
Rule Two: Never let the muzzle cover anything which you are not willing to destroy.
Rule Three: Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on the target.
Rule Four: Always be sure of your target.

Here’s an instructor at the firearms academy founded by Colonel Cooper explaining firearm safety:

Sean Hannity is an idiot. He committed a crime. That crime has now been made public. He needs to be prosecuted to the fully extent of the law. Moreover, getting a conceal carry permit for New York City is almost impossible for anyone who is not well connected. It is not just may issue, it is very, very selectively may issue. Hannity’s careless actions towards Williams demonstrates that he does not deserve the special consideration that it takes to get a conceal carry permit for NY City.

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Reader Interactions

116Comments

  1. 1.

    Keith P.

    March 16, 2017 at 10:09 pm

    Sean Hannity’s Rules of Gun Safety:

    Rule #1: Join the NRA

  2. 2.

    amk

    March 16, 2017 at 10:10 pm

    heh, a two-fer on klannity’s idiocy.

  3. 3.

    Adam L Silverman

    March 16, 2017 at 10:12 pm

    @amk: What else did he do? I normally ignore him.

  4. 4.

    marcion

    March 16, 2017 at 10:12 pm

    bigfoot sighted. I hear Sean’s on his way with his piece to take him out

  5. 5.

    amk

    March 16, 2017 at 10:12 pm

    @Adam L Silverman: doug beat you to it.

  6. 6.

    amk

    March 16, 2017 at 10:14 pm

    Wonder what if the roles were reversed? Bet juan, the librul, won’t be there to tell that story?

  7. 7.

    jharp

    March 16, 2017 at 10:14 pm

    Hannity is lucky Juan Williams didn’t shoot him.

    Seems to me he’d have been well within his rights.

  8. 8.

    amk

    March 16, 2017 at 10:15 pm

    @jharp: syg is whites only policy.

  9. 9.

    Major Major Major Major

    March 16, 2017 at 10:16 pm

    The very first time my dad took me shooting, we were leaving the house on the family farm holding our (unloaded, broken) shotguns. He was behind me and he said something I couldn’t make out so I spun around and said ‘what?’ I crossed him with the muzzle doing so and he marched me back inside, hung up the guns, and said we could try again tomorrow. And I’m a liberal city slicker latte sipping faggot.

    Where the hell do these fuckers learn about guns?

  10. 10.

    Roger Moore

    March 16, 2017 at 10:17 pm

    @Major Major Major Major:

    Where the hell do these fuckers learn about guns?

    John Wayne movies.

  11. 11.

    La Caterina (Mrs. Johannes)

    March 16, 2017 at 10:19 pm

    Wow.

    Paging Cy Vance. . . I can’t believe this got out before the statute of limitations ran.

  12. 12.

    Adam L Silverman

    March 16, 2017 at 10:19 pm

    @amk: That’s because Doug doesn’t check to see if anyone is actually drafting anything when he posts. I started drafting this over a 1/2 hour ago. It took me a while to run down the NY equivalent of brandishing.

  13. 13.

    efgoldman

    March 16, 2017 at 10:20 pm

    @amk:

    syg is whites only policy.

    It’s not any policy at all in sensible places, like New York.
    Maybe the asshole will decide to clean it when he “knows” it “isn’t loaded.”
    Although a quick death by gunshot is too good for him. Waste of a fucking bullet.

  14. 14.

    Adam L Silverman

    March 16, 2017 at 10:20 pm

    @amk: Hannity would have pressed charges. Because he’s both a weasel and a bigot.

  15. 15.

    amk

    March 16, 2017 at 10:20 pm

    @Adam L Silverman: Don’t worry, cole is next in line already.

  16. 16.

    LAO

    March 16, 2017 at 10:22 pm

    While I don’t do much state law any more, you are correct. Brandishing is covered by the menacing statute.

    Forgive my delay, dealing with a post walk case of the zoomies.

  17. 17.

    Major Major Major Major

    March 16, 2017 at 10:23 pm

    @Adam L Silverman: classic Doug.

  18. 18.

    jharp

    March 16, 2017 at 10:23 pm

    I forgot to add.

    In my neighborhood we have a 19 year serving a 14 year prison sentence for doing what Hannity did and mistakenly pulling the trigger (the gun was loaded) and killing a 16 year old girl.

  19. 19.

    efgoldman

    March 16, 2017 at 10:24 pm

    @LAO:

    Brandishing is covered by the menacing statute.

    Who can make a complaint? Does Williams have to do it, or can the AG’s/DA’s office do it?

  20. 20.

    Adam L Silverman

    March 16, 2017 at 10:25 pm

    @jharp: @amk: I almost put that in the post. There is no Stand Your Ground law in NY State. But one is allowed to defend oneself or others. Its called the Defense of Justification:
    http://ypdcrime.com/penal.law/article35.htm

    S 35.15 Justification; use of physical force in defense of a person.
    1. A person may, subject to the provisions of subdivision two, use
    physical force upon another person when and to the extent he or she
    reasonably believes such to be necessary to defend himself, herself or a
    third person from what he or she reasonably believes to be the use or
    imminent use of unlawful physical force by such other person, unless:
    (a) The latter’s conduct was provoked by the actor with intent to
    cause physical injury to another person; or
    (b) The actor was the initial aggressor; except that in such case the
    use of physical force is nevertheless justifiable if the actor has
    withdrawn from the encounter and effectively communicated such
    withdrawal to such other person but the latter persists in continuing
    the incident by the use or threatened imminent use of unlawful physical
    force; or
    (c) The physical force involved is the product of a combat by
    agreement not specifically authorized by law.
    2. A person may not use deadly physical force upon another person
    under circumstances specified in subdivision one unless:
    (a) The actor reasonably believes that such other person is using or
    about to use deadly physical force. Even in such case, however, the
    actor may not use deadly physical force if he or she knows that with
    complete personal safety, to oneself and others he or she may avoid the
    necessity of so doing by retreating; except that the actor is under no
    duty to retreat if he or she is:
    (i) in his or her dwelling and not the initial aggressor; or
    (ii) a police officer or peace officer or a person assisting a police
    officer or a peace officer at the latter`s direction, acting pursuant to
    section 35.30; or
    (b) He or she reasonably believes that such other person is committing
    or attempting to commit a kidnapping, forcible rape, forcible criminal
    sexual act or robbery; or
    (c) He or she reasonably believes that such other person is committing
    or attempting to commit a burglary, and the circumstances are such that
    the use of deadly physical force is authorized by subdivision three of
    section 35.20.

    Any other concealed carrier that was actually carrying in that studio would have been justified shooting Hannity to defend Williams. If FOX’s studios were in Florida or Texas, Hannity would likely have a few extra holes in him.

  21. 21.

    Barbara

    March 16, 2017 at 10:25 pm

    My sister fired a gun that was supposed to have been unloaded and it was a miracle that no one was hit.

  22. 22.

    Omnes Omnibus

    March 16, 2017 at 10:26 pm

    @Barbara: All guns are loaded.

  23. 23.

    LAO

    March 16, 2017 at 10:28 pm

    @efgoldman: Usually, the victim (or eyewitnesses) would be necessary to make the case.

  24. 24.

    father pussbucket

    March 16, 2017 at 10:28 pm

    no one was put in any danger.

    Manifestly contrary to fact.

  25. 25.

    amk

    March 16, 2017 at 10:28 pm

    @Adam L Silverman: This is a country that shrugs off shooting of their own presidents. klannity too will get away with it, per norm.

  26. 26.

    David ?Canadian Anchor Baby? Koch

    March 16, 2017 at 10:29 pm

    Typical Liburels — no sense of humor.

    Political correctness is killing this country.

  27. 27.

    Major Major Major Major

    March 16, 2017 at 10:29 pm

    @Adam L Silverman: what exactly IS the value-add that SYG is supposed to provide? And don’t say something snarky like shooting black people, that seems to be plenty legal without it (even Zimmerman’s lawyer didn’t invoke SYG, right?).

  28. 28.

    PhoenixRising

    March 16, 2017 at 10:29 pm

    My friend’s 16yo was charged under that statute for swinging her cell phone at some dude who she and her friends were done being polite to on the subway. Pled to Battery 2, and is now a 19yo parent because once you have a criminal record…He pointed a gun and lit up the sight.

    It’s nice to be white.

  29. 29.

    Adam L Silverman

    March 16, 2017 at 10:30 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: @Roger Moore: Every novice makes that mistake. Hopefully with an empty firearm. And hopefully with their finger off the trigger. I made it several times before I became really proficient. And sometimes it happens for experienced folks when in close quarters. Which is why you keep your finger off the trigger until sights are on the target and you’re ready to fire!

  30. 30.

    NYCMT

    March 16, 2017 at 10:31 pm

    A friend’s now deceased aunt did that to me with the friend’s brand-new service Glock when the friend finally joined ACPD. I was up and out of that apartment faster than you could say boo.

  31. 31.

    Adam L Silverman

    March 16, 2017 at 10:31 pm

    @LAO: Thank you counselor.

  32. 32.

    J R in WV

    March 16, 2017 at 10:31 pm

    Just… wow, how stupid. The Gun is ALWAYS loaded.

    I never handled a gun with laser sights, always thought the sight came on with the trigger being touched, but I guess more like a safety, with a switch. Being touched with a sighting laser is more than a threat, closer to a promise. Should be prosecuted, lose his license.

  33. 33.

    Adam L Silverman

    March 16, 2017 at 10:32 pm

    @LAO: Does a McKay Copins tweet count?

  34. 34.

    Adam L Silverman

    March 16, 2017 at 10:34 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: Moi snarky?

    My understanding is that it removes the requirement to retreat. Essentially if one is where one is legally allowed to be, if one is threatened with deadly force, then one may use deadly force in self defense of self or others without having to first retreat first. I think the justification is that the requirement to first retreat put one at greater risk as it removed one’s ability to immediately meet force with force in self defense.

  35. 35.

    LAO

    March 16, 2017 at 10:35 pm

    @PhoenixRising: In NYC? We don’t have a criminal battery statute. And Menacing 2d is a misdemeanor. Also, at 16, would be eligible for yo (youthful offender) status.

  36. 36.

    Adam L Silverman

    March 16, 2017 at 10:36 pm

    @J R in WV: Depends on whether its integral in the grips or its an add on.

  37. 37.

    LAO

    March 16, 2017 at 10:37 pm

    @Adam L Silverman: to me it does, not sure the legal system would agree.

  38. 38.

    NCSteve

    March 16, 2017 at 10:37 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: Always, every goddamn time. Every gun is loaded.

    And the problem is that most of the idiots who want guns are precisely the kind of idiots who can’t understand why this rule is important. They can’t grasp that out of all the people who “know” their gun isn’t loaded, statistically, some of them are wrong and the only way for the ones who are wrong to keep from fucking killing someone is for every single goddamn person with a gun to always treat it like it’s loaded, even/especially when they “know” it isn’t.

    In the military, they get this. Because in the military, there are lots and lots and lots of people with guns in very small spaces, such that there is always at least one person in every crowd of soldiers with “unloaded” weapons who is wrong.

    The only thing wrong with guns is the kind of people who feel the need to carry them everywhere they go.

  39. 39.

    SFAW

    March 16, 2017 at 10:38 pm

    I am not a gun owner. But I can’t count the number of times I’ve been told by responsible gun owners: NEVER point a weapon at someone unless you intend to use it, and ALWAYS assume it is loaded. The story Barbara related @#21 is similar to one told me by my father’s boss, where the boss’s brother had the weapon, and the bullet passed a foot or so from the boss.

    If Juan Williams did not care about his career, a semi-appropriate response to The Stupidest Man on TV would have been, some time later,
    “Hey Sean, cool gun, can I take a look at it?” Then if Idiot handed Juan the gun, Williams should have pressed the barrel to Idiot’s forehead, and said “How do you like it now, you stupid motherfucker? Let’s find out whether this thing is loaded.” No, I don’t really think Williams should actually do anything like that, but the idea of Idiot shitting himself from fear is … interesting.

  40. 40.

    Adam L Silverman

    March 16, 2017 at 10:38 pm

    @LAO: We have your back. You can get to work on it first thing tomorrow morning when you get to the office! We believe in you. You can take him down!!!!

  41. 41.

    hovercraft

    March 16, 2017 at 10:39 pm

    I must confess to being a terrible person, when I saw the tittle of the post I thought he had gone and killed himself while doing something with a gun, and I was disappointed when I read further.

  42. 42.

    LAO

    March 16, 2017 at 10:40 pm

    @Adam L Silverman: let me remind you, I’m a “gold star” defense attorney- never aworked as a prosecutor. I simply can’t switch teams at this late date. My whole self image would shatter.

  43. 43.

    Jeffro

    March 16, 2017 at 10:43 pm

    Jeffro’s Dad’s Rule Number Five: I keep both my service revolver and my off-duty revolver in my top dresser drawer, loaded. See? Here they are. And if I ever even think you or your brother have opened that drawer, much less touched those guns, I’ll spank you so badly you won’t sit down…not just next week but EVER.

    It made an impression…

  44. 44.

    amk

    March 16, 2017 at 10:43 pm

    @hovercraft: now, that would have been a celebrity celebratory news.

  45. 45.

    Barbara

    March 16, 2017 at 10:43 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: She was 17 and my family had nothing to do with guns. A friend of hers let her play with it and told her it was not loaded.

  46. 46.

    Jeffro

    March 16, 2017 at 10:43 pm

    @hovercraft: That’s not “terrible”, it just means your moral compass is still working.

  47. 47.

    Adam L Silverman

    March 16, 2017 at 10:44 pm

    @LAO: You know people. Make the call…

  48. 48.

    different-church-lady

    March 16, 2017 at 10:45 pm

    Waddaya wanna bet Williams goes to bat for his “colleague”?

  49. 49.

    efgoldman

    March 16, 2017 at 10:47 pm

    @LAO:

    I’m a “gold star” defense attorney- never aworked as a prosecutor. I simply can’t switch teams at this late date.

    You don’t have to switch teams. The asshole isn’t your client, you don’t owe him a fucking thing.

  50. 50.

    J R in WV

    March 16, 2017 at 10:47 pm

    Many years ago, perhaps 40 or so, I was visiting an older friend, quite the outdoorsman, trapper, fisherman, hunter, etc. He suggested we visit a friend of his nearby, so off we went.

    It was a nice 2 story farmhouse, 2-up and 2-down, with the kitchen behind the first floor front rooms. Carl’s friend was a little younger then Carl, older than me, married with a new baby upstairs in bed. Friend had gotten a new shotgun for Xmas, and showed it to us.

    It had been under the couch in the living room. Carl put it to his shoulder and pointed it as if at a game bird, swinging the gun to follow the flying bird, then he handed it to me. I eased the slide back only to see a shell in the chanber – the 12 gauge was loaded. I set the gun down on the coffee table and told then it was loaded. No, No, it can’t be. But it was.

    I was never so glad to have been taught very early, like at 10 Y O that all guns are always loaded, ALWAYS LOADED. Cocked too. Safety off, too, damn you!
    At least I didn’t shoot a hole in the guy’s house with his new gun! Neither did Carl. Never saw the guy again, a good thing really.

    Now that baby is old enough to be through a hitch in the Army… nearing retirement. Long time gone…

  51. 51.

    Adam L Silverman

    March 16, 2017 at 10:47 pm

    And we now have confirmation that Juan Williams has Stockholm syndrome:

    (1/2) This incident is being sensationalized – everything was under total control throughout and I never felt like I was put in harm’s way.

    — Juan Williams (@TheJuanWilliams) March 17, 2017

    (2/2) It was clear that Sean put my safety and security above all else and we continue to be great friends.

    — Juan Williams (@TheJuanWilliams) March 17, 2017

  52. 52.

    efgoldman

    March 16, 2017 at 10:48 pm

    @Jeffro:

    if I ever even think you or your brother have opened that drawer, much less touched those guns

    I still wouldn’t have left them accessible – AND LOADED! – where kids can get at them. Never ever.

  53. 53.

    danielx

    March 16, 2017 at 10:49 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    All guns are loaded.

    Always, always, always.

    I get really tired of reading stories about some fucking idiot horsing around with a gun he/she didn’t think was loaded, or left where a child could reach it, or…..lather, rinse, repeat.

    Even people who are supposedly trained and experienced make mistakes. There’s a small town police chief in my fair state who has shot himself in the leg/foot twice. Both times while holstering a Glock and getting one of those waist drawcord thingies on a fleece jacket caught in the trigger guard.

    Hannity is an accident waiting to happen.

  54. 54.

    Omnes Omnibus

    March 16, 2017 at 10:49 pm

    @efgoldman: No, I get where she is coming from. It’s an ethos.

  55. 55.

    danielx

    March 16, 2017 at 10:51 pm

    @Barbara:

    No longer a friend, I hope and trust.

  56. 56.

    different-church-lady

    March 16, 2017 at 10:51 pm

    @Adam L Silverman: Am I a fuckin’ genius or what?

  57. 57.

    efgoldman

    March 16, 2017 at 10:51 pm

    @different-church-lady:

    Waddaya wanna bet Williams goes to bat for his “colleague”?

    And the producers/camera operators/stage managers/gofers who saw it will never say a word, because they’d be afraid for their jobs.

  58. 58.

    LAO

    March 16, 2017 at 10:52 pm

    @Jeffro: my brother, the federal agent, keeps his weapons locked in a gun safe out of reach of his children.

  59. 59.

    LAO

    March 16, 2017 at 10:53 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: Thanks, was going to try to explain but you covered it.

  60. 60.

    LAO

    March 16, 2017 at 10:54 pm

    @different-church-lady: yes, you are.

  61. 61.

    Another Scott

    March 16, 2017 at 10:56 pm

    @Adam L Silverman: There’s probably something in the Fox contract, maybe something like, “You will donate 3/4 of your cortex to the charity of Rupert Murdoch’s choice, due 2 weeks after execution of this contract.”

    Yeah, have a gun’s laser sight pointed at one is the perfect illustration of “putting my safety and security above all else”. Who could possibly think not?

    :-/

    I hope it’s not contagious, whatever those folks have. It’s scary.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  62. 62.

    amk

    March 16, 2017 at 10:58 pm

    @Adam L Silverman: you have to forgive him, that’s the librul in him speaking.

  63. 63.

    Omnes Omnibus

    March 16, 2017 at 10:59 pm

    @LAO: My SIL works for a victims advocacy organization and works closely with prosecutors. She is good friends with the the person who is now my home county’s DA. At a time when I really needed a job, she tried to get me hooked up with an interview. I applied to appease SIL, but I made sure my cover letter had a bunch of typos.

    ETA: SIL does good and valuable work for people who need help. We don’t see eye to eye on criminal justice issues though

  64. 64.

    Felonius Monk

    March 16, 2017 at 10:59 pm

    @Adam L Silverman:

    And we now have confirmation that Juan Williams has Stockholm syndrome:

    Maybe it just confirms that Fox really does hire only idiots.

  65. 65.

    Adam L Silverman

    March 16, 2017 at 11:00 pm

    @different-church-lady: Yes, yes you are. You were posting as I was copying and pasting the twitter embeds. Well done!

  66. 66.

    Adam L Silverman

    March 16, 2017 at 11:01 pm

    @Felonius Monk: That too!

  67. 67.

    MJS

    March 16, 2017 at 11:06 pm

    @Adam L Silverman: That’s hilarious. You do realize 1) Juan Williams is black and 2) this occurred in the Fox News studio. Exactly who would be coming too Mr. Williams’ defense?

  68. 68.

    LAO

    March 16, 2017 at 11:07 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: Well played!

  69. 69.

    clay

    March 16, 2017 at 11:07 pm

    @Barbara: My wife’s brother was in the Army and served in Iraq. A couple of years after he got discharged, he and my wife were cleaning out their grandmother’s house. (She had been moved to a nursing home.). They found a gun in the back of a closet.

    He picked it up to examine it; my wife begged him to leave it alone. He refused, claimed he knew what he was doing, was sure it wasn’t loaded. She left the room. One minute later, of course, she hears a bang. Fortunately, the bullet went into the wall. She was furious at him; didn’t talk to him for a month.

  70. 70.

    different-church-lady

    March 16, 2017 at 11:10 pm

    @Adam L Silverman: Sarcasm, of course. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out Williams would do that.

    “Am I a fuckin’ genius or what?” is the punchline to a great story about Earl Weaver. Mike Flanagan was pitching with one out, when a fielder lost a pop fly in the sun. The next batter hits an easy double-play grounder, but it takes a bad hop. Now there’s runners on first and second. Earl comes out of the dugout, goes to the mound and says to Flanagan, “Don’t let them hit it in the air, and don’t let them hit it on the ground,” turns around, and goes back into the dugout.

    The next batter hits a low, soft line drive for a double play. Flanagan goes to the dugout and Weaver exclaims, “Am I a fuckin’ genius or what?”

  71. 71.

    Another Scott

    March 16, 2017 at 11:12 pm

    I’ve told this story before, but a quick review:

    My Life Member of the NRA uncle had a big gun collection, a 3-pounder cannon that he would occasionally shoot at some not-too-far-away artillery range, lots of interesting rifles, shot guns, over-under guns, pistols, etc. He had shotgun shell reloading tools, also too.

    One day he was cleaning his rifles with the various brushes, and got to one and the brush didn’t go down as far as it should have. He thought it was strange, but figured there was just a build-up of some sort, so he pushed the brush in harder.

    Boom!

    The bullet grazed one of his index fingers, giving him a nasty scar. He was lucky that he wasn’t killed, of course.

    :-/

    He took a friend and me out in the county once to shoot his various big handguns. We had the ear muffs and there was a big backstop of railroad ties, etc., so it was reasonably safe. It was interesting. I remember shooting the .44 and having the mangled slug come bouncing back to us and landing at my feet and thinking about the horrible damage it would do do a person…. We moved back another 10 feet after that. ;-) I was nearly done with them when I aimed and fired one final time and nothing happened. I tried again, and still nothing. I mentioned it to my uncle, he came over and carefully took it from me and tried yet again to get it to fire. It never did – a bad shell. I’m sure that happens not too infrequently, but that gave me the willies even more than having the slug land at my feet. One can imagine it eventually going off after starting very slowly. (I don’t recall what he did with the shell – I want to say he buried it, but I don’t really remember.)

    The feeling of power from a gun is a bit intoxicating, but I hope he eventually got rid of all those things when he moved out of that house (was his father’s), but I dunno. I’ve never felt the urge to own a gun, myself.

    Cheers,
    Scott.
    (And the NRA is evil.)

  72. 72.

    MJS

    March 16, 2017 at 11:12 pm

    Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t get the hand wringing here. I just can’t get worked up about someone who takes their paycheck from Fox News having a co-worker pointing a gun at them. In fact, they should arm all of those idiots before the start of every workday.

  73. 73.

    gene108

    March 16, 2017 at 11:13 pm

    @Adam L Silverman:

    Not Stockholm Syndrome, Juan knows who writes paychecks and why they keep him around.

    He makes good money, I guess, so a little humiliation is no big deal to keep you living large.

  74. 74.

    Omnes Omnibus

    March 16, 2017 at 11:20 pm

    @Another Scott: If I pick up one of my guns (which I seldom do), the first thing I do is break open the shotguns or work the bolt on the Mauser rifle. I don’t keep ammo in the apartment and live alone. I still can’t be sure that gnomes or gremlins didn’t load the thing while I was at work.

  75. 75.

    efgoldman

    March 16, 2017 at 11:23 pm

    @clay:

    She was furious at him; didn’t talk to him for a month.

    I would have cleared the weapon, then smacked him upside the head with it.

  76. 76.

    BretH

    March 16, 2017 at 11:27 pm

    I find it telling that in this relatively limited group there are what, maybe 10 people who could be dead right now due to careless handling of firearms.

  77. 77.

    clay

    March 16, 2017 at 11:40 pm

    @efgoldman: My wife has never touched a gun in her life. She got the fuck out of the house after making sure her brother wasn’t dead.

  78. 78.

    cokane

    March 16, 2017 at 11:42 pm

    Juan Williams said it wasn’t a big deal. Hannity is a dumbass but I don’t see the point of making a big deal about this. Would be different if Williams told a different story, but he isn’t.

  79. 79.

    Omnes Omnibus

    March 16, 2017 at 11:52 pm

    @cokane: People die when people treat guns as a toys.

  80. 80.

    Another Scott

    March 16, 2017 at 11:54 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: That’s the smart thing to do, but it’s really hard for humans not to get distracted. He was cleaning half-a-dozen or more at the time.

    No excuses, but it shows that anyone can make mistakes. And it’s another example of why guns shouldn’t be kept in the home.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  81. 81.

    Courtney

    March 16, 2017 at 11:55 pm

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHshDzeRzWI

  82. 82.

    father pussbucket

    March 16, 2017 at 11:55 pm

    @cokane:

    Would be different if Williams told a different story had been the guy with the gun

    FTFY

  83. 83.

    Adam L Silverman

    March 16, 2017 at 11:56 pm

    @cokane: What @Omnes Omnibus: said. That was the real reason for doing the post. Sure making fun of Hannity is fun. But the real reason to post this is to reinforce that you don’t do things like this with a firearm.

  84. 84.

    Ruckus

    March 17, 2017 at 12:06 am

    I used to hunt. I quit after too many close calls. I’ve been shot at 4 time in civilian life. Not intentionally 3 times, and one was close enough to my head that the person who fired the shot as I stepped off a porch and said it missed my head by about an inch, was shooting a 357 mag hollow point. If that had hit me I’d of had my brains splattered all over the countryside. I’ve also carried a loaded gun on duty in the navy, with orders that if necessary to shoot, shoot to kill.
    Now? I don’t have anything to do with guns. I may be a slow learner but learn I do, or did as it’s been decades since I’ve fired a gun. I have thousands of dollars worth of tools, and I considered a gun to be a deadly tool. I won’t give them that much credit anymore, now they are just a deadly fetish.

  85. 85.

    Omnes Omnibus

    March 17, 2017 at 12:08 am

    @Another Scott:

    No excuses, but it shows that anyone can make mistakes

    I don’t. I treat them like the tool that terrifies me – the table saw. I assume guns are going to try to hurt someone unless I prevent it.

  86. 86.

    Ruckus

    March 17, 2017 at 12:10 am

    @Adam L Silverman:
    I have a question.
    If Shithead Hannity has a permit to carry, wouldn’t he carry a loaded weapon? So did he unload it? Or was that a loaded weapon he aimed at a “friend” and most likely put enough pressure on the trigger to activate the laser?
    I’d bet my take is far closer to the truth than any word that’s ever come out of shithead’s mouth.

  87. 87.

    Raoul

    March 17, 2017 at 12:19 am

    I think Will wins the Twitterverse for this evening, re: Hannity.

    @saletan
    Next time this mood strikes you, Sean, try doing it spray-tanned in a park in Cleveland.

  88. 88.

    Ruckus

    March 17, 2017 at 12:22 am

    @Omnes Omnibus:
    I’ve worked for over 5 decades around tools. Tools that will take off body parts or can throw off bits that can enter your body. Usually hot parts that will at least burn you. Every day you have to remind yourself that serious injury can occur. Lots and lots of people work at jobs that are far more dangerous than mine. I worked in the navy on live electrical circuits on a ship under way because you had to do that. But all those tools and those circuits are not meant to kill you. They do that because you misuse them or forget the safety rules. A gun’s only purpose is to kill something. And it knows nothing, it is not smart, it is not stupid, it knows nothing. It relies on it’s handler to use it properly. Sadly it seems like the majority of operators/handlers are fucking idiots.

  89. 89.

    Raoul

    March 17, 2017 at 12:23 am

    @cokane: If Williams said that, then he’s an even bigger idiot than I thought. Or kissing up to his Fox bosses (which is sort of the same thing).

  90. 90.

    SFAW

    March 17, 2017 at 12:25 am

    @Ruckus:

    I’d bet my take is far closer to the truth than any word that’s ever come out of shithead’s mouth.

    Hell, that’s true for just about any topic you name.

  91. 91.

    cokane

    March 17, 2017 at 12:26 am

    @Adam L Silverman: it’s a fine PSA, I was reacting to the “Hannity should be prosecuted” bit. This isn’t worth state resources.

  92. 92.

    Omnes Omnibus

    March 17, 2017 at 12:29 am

    @Ruckus: No, a gun exists to punch a hole in something. What that something is is the concern. Assuming it wants to hurt me makes me careful. I know the fucking table saw wants to kill someone – me or my dad. YMMV

  93. 93.

    SFAW

    March 17, 2017 at 12:35 am

    @cokane:

    it’s a fine PSA, I was reacting to the “Hannity should be prosecuted” bit. This isn’t worth state resources.

    Except for the likelihood that Murdoch would get him off with a wrist slap, it absolutely would be worth it. A former co-worker told me that, when he was in Basic, the Rangemaster would always find a recruit to make an example of. Nothing fatal/permanent, just something to give the other recruits the proper appreciation for gun safety. I have no problem with Hannity being made an example of.

    [Disclaimer: I have no idea if the story was true, but as he was 20 years older, and “knew stuff,” I was inclined to believe him. Plus, it was a good story. (I left out a number of details)]

  94. 94.

    Cleardale

    March 17, 2017 at 12:53 am

    @SFAW:

    I’ve seen it in basic training. Empty cartridge or actual dummy round slipped into a weapon when it’s handed to the instructor. Then they hand it back. It should be caught because you clear and check every weapon when it’s handed to you. Trainee does push-ups behind the line when they don’t catch it because “I cleared it when I handed it to them, it’s obviously still clear.”

  95. 95.

    Anne Laurie

    March 17, 2017 at 12:57 am

    @efgoldman:

    I still wouldn’t have left them accessible – AND LOADED! – where kids can get at them. Never ever.

    Another one of the ‘political correctness’ social changes I approve whenever I notice it: These days, tv shows & movies that show cops at home show them storing their service weapons in a safe, at least if characters supposed to have a family. (Or unless they’re supposed to be idiots/criminals/idiot criminals.)

    People who know nothing learn ‘how things work’ from what they see in the media. What they’re being taught, now, is that people who aren’t idiots or criminals store their home arsenal in childproof safes, not under their pillows / in the nightstand. It won’t weed out all the accidental murders/suicides — any more than making it difficult to show characters smoking made teenagers stop thinking of it as ‘glamorous’ — but every little bit helps.

  96. 96.

    Ruckus

    March 17, 2017 at 12:59 am

    @Omnes Omnibus:
    As Adam’s post was meant to illustrate, and does, a gun is only a killing instrument. It does this by punching a hole in whatever, but it is not a hole punch. I have lots of tools that put holes in things, that is what they are intended to do, punch, drill, mill, erode, bore, whatever a hole in something. A gun is meant to kill what it puts that hole in. Now a table saw……..

  97. 97.

    SFAW

    March 17, 2017 at 12:59 am

    @Cleardale:

    In the story told me, the Rangemaster imparted the “learning experience” in a manner similar to that described by efgoldman

  98. 98.

    efgoldman

    March 17, 2017 at 1:00 am

    @Anne Laurie:

    People who know nothing learn ‘how things work’ from what they see in the media.

    Yup. When was the past time you saw smoking in a current TV show? Still occasionally in a movie, but it’s rare, and usually a period piece.

  99. 99.

    Thru the Looking Glass...

    March 17, 2017 at 1:02 am

    What Hannity did is one of the stupidest, most irresponsible, and down right dangerous things you can do… (Insert ANY noun, verb, adjective, and/or adverb you choose and you can’t go wrong)

  100. 100.

    JustRuss

    March 17, 2017 at 1:09 am

    @Ruckus: Exactly. I know a couple guys who pack, and they don’t see any point in carrying empty. I highly doubt tough-guy Hannity does. I also doubt he dropped the magazine and cleared the chamber before pulling this stunt, and even if he did, YOU DON’T POINT A GUN AT SOMEBODY FOR LAUGHS!

  101. 101.

    Villago Delenda Est

    March 17, 2017 at 1:09 am

    Yes, I know, dead thread, but sheesh, it’s obvious that Hannity despite all this asserted “training” he’s had is unfit to wield a firearm.

  102. 102.

    cokane

    March 17, 2017 at 1:19 am

    @SFAW: and people wonder why we have absurdly high incarceration rates. the idea that the police and courts should be focused on enforcing non-halfwittery — from alleged liberals — is insane.

  103. 103.

    Ruckus

    March 17, 2017 at 1:26 am

    @Villago Delenda Est:
    He’s also too fucking stupid to breathe but there you go.

  104. 104.

    SFAW

    March 17, 2017 at 1:27 am

    @cokane:

    the idea that the police and courts should be focused on enforcing non-halfwittery — from alleged liberals — is insane.

    Can you translate that into standard English?

  105. 105.

    Beautifulplummage

    March 17, 2017 at 1:29 am

    WHY IS SEAN CARRYING HIS GUN TO HIS WORKPLACE! I vote COSPLAY! But, what kind? Mall Cop? Secret Agent Man? Dog Walker?
    I’ll be disappointed if SNL doesn’t do some crack reporting on this.

  106. 106.

    SFAW

    March 17, 2017 at 1:29 am

    @Ruckus:

    There’s a reason that he, Gohmert, and Jim Hoft have the nickname “The Stupidest Man On/In” whatever.

  107. 107.

    JWR

    March 17, 2017 at 2:07 am

    A bit late to the thread, but Juan Williams a “Liberal”? It is to laugh, if not to moan. (Oh yeah, it’s FOX. Sorry.)

  108. 108.

    Anne Laurie

    March 17, 2017 at 2:20 am

    @cokane:

    the idea that the police and courts should be focused on enforcing non-halfwittery — from alleged liberals — is insane.

    We don’t want Hannity locked up, nitwit troll. We just want him not to be risking other peoples’ lives by waving his penis substitute around, which would mean withdrawing his NYC concealed-carry permit. It would take longer to explain to Mr. Inanity-on-Fox what he’d done wrong than to dig out his permit & stamp CANCELLED on it, but in a sensible society, it still wouldn’t take much in the way of public safety resources.

    (If he’s genuinely afraid of personal assault, he can surely afford to employ professional bodyguards who have better gun-handling training.)

  109. 109.

    Ruckus

    March 17, 2017 at 2:56 am

    @Anne Laurie:

    professional bodyguards who have better gun-handling training

    And usually aren’t afraid of their own shadow.

  110. 110.

    The Moar You Know

    March 17, 2017 at 10:01 am

    I’ve been shooting since I was a child. I was in an acting class doing improv and one of my fellow students had brought in a rifle and his improv was to point it at the audience – us.

    (This was before the days of school shootings)

    I yelled “put that fucking thing down” and when he hesitated, went down to the stage and took his gun away, and yelled “you ever point a gun at me again you’re going to be walking out of here with it up your ass”. He was pissed and the teacher was pissed. At me. I hauled the teacher aside afterwards and explained the problem. In spite of that, he never understood why I was so pissed.

    It’s not just gun owners who need the safety lecture. It’s everybody.

  111. 111.

    The Moar You Know

    March 17, 2017 at 10:14 am

    I still wouldn’t have left them accessible – AND LOADED! – where kids can get at them. Never ever.

    @efgoldman: I would, because they’re kids. They’re going to find them anyway. Seriously. If the weapons are in a safe they’re going to figure out how to get in the safe. Kids are freaking smart that way. I think Jeffro’s dad handled it perfectly.

  112. 112.

    mm

    March 17, 2017 at 12:06 pm

    Two things.

    Juan Williams is a liberal? I never thought so when he was on NPR and now he’s a “Fox News Liberal” like a “Fox News Democrat”. Just a straw man. Who knows what his real opinions are.

    Also I’m still pissed that Ray Suarez left “Talk of the Nation” on NPR. He was replaced by Juan Williams who was totally out of his depth.

  113. 113.

    The Simp in the Suit

    March 17, 2017 at 12:28 pm

    @cokane: I know that this is pointless, but I’ll try anyway.

    It does not matter whether Juan the other Fox moron was worried or not when Hannity the first moron pointed the gun at him. They’re talking heads for Fox. They’re both morons. Morons don’t understand even the simplest things that the rest of us “get” without thinking twice. The rest of us understand that pointing guns at people is dangerous. Period. Whether the moron at the other end of the barrel understands that or not is immaterial. What the fuck is your excuse?

  114. 114.

    Stan

    March 17, 2017 at 1:30 pm

    @NCSteve:

    In the military, they get this. Because in the military, there are lots and lots and lots of people with guns in very small spaces, such that there is always at least one person in every crowd of soldiers with “unloaded” weapons who is wrong.

    Um, No. If a group of soldiers (outside a combat area) is supposed to have unloaded weapons, believe me, the odds are slim indeed that any of them is in fact loaded. Soldiers are trained to do what the f*ck they are told, especially with weapons.

  115. 115.

    Ruckus

    March 17, 2017 at 1:57 pm

    @Stan:
    No, they are trained what they are supposed to do. And there are lots of checks and balances to insure that is what happens. And yes I know they get things beat into their heads, I’ve been there. But there are still issues because they are immature and lots of young people of normal military age don’t think past the next 30 seconds, if that long. That’s why the checks and balances are so important. They are not just left to their own sense of doing what they are told.

  116. 116.

    Gravie

    March 17, 2017 at 2:40 pm

    ‘Way, way late to the conversation but I need to share this story. We have a couple of handguns, mainly used by my husband. I’m just not interested. One afternoon a few years ago, I arrived home from work to find my husband sitting on the floor in the small area between our bed and the dresser, a gun in his hand and a very strange look on his face. Of course I asked what was going on and he told me he was preparing to clean the (he thought) unloaded gun when BAM, it went off and shot a neat hole in the bottom dresser drawer. Luckily, the gun was pointed away from him. I was horrified but also kind of amused by our now-perforated piece of furniture, since there was no other damage done. He promised to be more careful in the future and summed up the incident: “I shot the dresser, but I did not shoot the chiffarobe.”

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