RetiredGySgt
Diamond Member
Okay... a hunter nearly (or accidentally) shoots another hunter while hunting grouse. There is not injury (or the injury was accidental), so there is either no report that this ever happened or no crime was committed so there is no basis for restricting the owner. Nonetheless, the situation is dangerous. A gun owner is cleaning is gun and it accidentally goes off. A parent leaves a gun where a child could find it and play with it. All dangerous. All the result of negligent and careless behavior. No crimes. Possibly nothing reported. Possibly no one ever knows about it.
I don't necessarily think that these things should be addressed, but MM's analogy was that where there is evidence that someone uses a gun in an unsafe manner - even if there is no crime - there should be some regulation to prevent future accidents.
Which is the whole point, IF there is evidence action IS taken, usually resulting in lose of the right to own weapons. But just as minor accidents with cars are not prosecuted minor accidents with weapons that do not break a specific law ( by the way, it is against the law to improperly store a weapon around children or to fire a weapon , even accidently in certain areas.) are not prosecuted. BUT if they are the difference is that you LOSE the right to own weapons if found guilty. The laws are so much more restrictive on firearms then automobiles it is just not comparable. There are hundreds of ways to lose the right to own a weapon permanantly and almost none on cars.