I worry about people who defend their homes with guns. I REALLY worry about people who defend their homes with guns who say things like, "I know what I'm doing with guns. I would never have an accident."
I worry a little bit less about people who defend their homes with guns who admit that to err is human, and who are fearful that they could shoot a family member accidentally just as easily as they could shoot an intruder. At least people like that are more likely to pause or think twice before pulling out a firearm and shooting someone in their house.
I write this diary because I've noticed two separate incidents recently of people shooting family members thinking they were intruders.
The first was a gentleman in Kansas who shot his wife in the head in the early hours thinking she was an intruder.
I've actually had conversations with gun owners here at Daily Kos who firmly believe that this could never happen to them. One I recall insisted that this kind of stuff doesn't even really happen. So I took note of the story, and then today I saw another incident in the news.
A Virginia man shot his daughter in the torso, again thinking that she was an intruder.
I myself have a fire poker beside my bed. It pokes, it is heavy and pointy and swings nicely. I have no statistics to support my feeling that it could defend my body and home as well as a gun, but I can state conclusively that I'm less likely to mortally wound my husband or one of my children with my fire poker than I could with a firearm.
For me, the risks are too great to have a gun in the house. That doesn't mean I'm less committed to defending my home than a gun owner.
I'm wonder if the husband and father who must be having the worst week of their lives wish that they had chosen another way to defend their homes. I wonder if, previous to these terrible incidents, they felt that they were the kind of gun owners who would never be careless enough to shoot their wife and their daughter.
If you are someone who says to yourself that this could never happen to you, I hope that you think some more on that.
5:17 PM PT: Hat tip to Bob Johnson for pointing out that the story of the husband who shot his wife early in the morning as been updated since I published this diary. Turns out it was a domestic dispute.