Lessons to be learned

Regarding “Tracking the impact of gun laws makes sense (Jan. 4)”:

Pointing out the lessons to be learned from Veronica Rutledge’s death seems urgent. From reported accounts, Veronica was intelligent and educated, but she made three major errors of judgment:

1. She carried her self-protection, semi-automatic pistol with a cartridge in the weapon’s chamber. That decision greatly increased her risk for an accidental discharge of the weapon.

2. It is likely she failed to engage the pistol’s safety lever, or the 2-year-old child would not have been able to fire the weapon.

3. She placed the weapon within reach of the unwatched child.

With a loaded magazine but no cartridge in the chamber, the weapon is absolutely safe and cannot be fired accidentally by anyone, especially a child. It takes less than a half-second for a trained person to rack the slide and chamber a cartridge when needed. This short time period would be unlikely to reduce the effectiveness of the weapon as a deterrent to assault.

Common sense dictates the simple safety lesson No. 1 for the average armed citizen to employ, especially concerning children: Don’t routinely keep or carry a ready-to-use weapon with a cartridge in the chamber.

Gary Bumgarner

Spokane