Idiot Arrested After Negligent Discharge At University Pool

This is the sort of story that strongly suggests that some people are simply too poorly trained or too stupid to be trusted to carry firearms without becoming a significant threat to society.

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A Charleston man is charged with a misdemeanor after his gun discharged during a children’s swim lesson session at the University of Charleston on Friday evening.

Lloyd Simms, 41, turned himself in to the Charleston Police Department Saturday morning, said Chief of Detectives Steve Cooper.

Jackie Kay, of Charleston, whose 17-year-old daughter was giving the lesson, said the incident happened at the Gorman PE Building on the UC campus during a swim lesson. Kay’s daughter was in the pool with several children while parents were around the pool watching.

“This man was sitting not two feet away and his gun went off,” Kay said. “She said he had a huge hole in his pocket.

“Everyone was upset. It could have been a terrible tragedy for many people.”

Weapons are not allowed on UC’s campus.

Randy Ross, UC’s director of public safety, said Simms, who has a concealed carry permit, was carrying a Springfield Arms XDM .40-caliber handgun in his back pants pocket.

Let’s go through Lloyd Simm’s most obvious mistakes.

  1. He carried a handgun without an adequate holster.
  2. He intentionally sat on a loaded firearm.
  3. He carried a handgun into a place where it was illegal to do so.

I’m sure there are other criticisms that can be made about Mr. Simms, but those three items are the most important points.

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The Second Amendment reads as follows.

“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

Many poorly-educated folks have attempted to assert that when the Founders wrote about a “well-regulated,” they were stating that there could be laws and regulations passed controlling who has access to armed. That betrays a poor grasp of the language in common use at the time, and would render the 2nd Amendment as a self-contradictory statement.

What the Founders meant by “well-regulated” is fortunately very clear to anyone who bothers to examine history and language. Something that is “well-regulated” is something that is in a state of being in proper working order.

In modern American English, being well-regulated means being well trained and equipped.

Mere gun ownership does not make you a good citizen. To fully live up to your obligations as a gun owner, you have the moral responsibility to obtain proper training and accouterments.  In the case of a handgun you intend to own for defensive use, this means a proper holster that protects the weapon’s trigger guard from inadvertent discharge, and training on how to not just shoot, but carry a firearm responsibly.

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Lloyd Simms no doubt obtained his concealed carry permit and carried his concealed handgun Friday evening in the hopes of being able to use it to defend his life and that of his daughter if a deadly force threat arose.

Here’s the problem.

If you aren’t competently trained to use, carry, shoot, and store your firearms, you may be that deadly force threat, as Mr. Simms proved to be in his incompetence Friday evening.

The Founding Fathers quite clearly did not want the federal government passing laws regarding the ownership or use of arms.

They just as clearly expected us to seek out and obtain the training to be truly proficient with them and an be an asset to our communities.

Have you done your part to develop and maintain that proficiency?

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