While much of the doom and gloom that surrounds guns is alarmist nonsense, the truth is that firearms are dangerous if handled improperly. You must respect your firearms in everything you do. Otherwise, bad things might happen.

That’s a lesson a gentleman in Lubbock, TX just learned the hard way.

A man was taken to University Medical Center after he shot himself while cleaning his gun Sunday afternoon, the Lubbock Police Department said.

There’s no word on how the man is doing.

Part of me wants to lash out about keeping one’s booger hook off the bang switch, but I can’t this time. After all, Glocks actually require you to pull the trigger for disassembly. You kind of can’t clean the weapon without pulling the trigger, so I won’t be so quick to judge in that regard.

However, such a feature–the reason some don’t like Glocks at all–means it’s all the more imperative to make sure your weapon is clear well before you ever pull that trigger.

Firearms are dangerous when not handled properly. That’s kind of their point, actually. If they weren’t dangerous, they’d be nearly useless for anything more than keeping papers from flying off your desk.

Because of that danger, great care needs to be taken while handling them for any reason. It can’t be overstated, either.

Yes, I know there are people who think the talk about gun safety is drastically overstated. They put their fingers on the trigger and point their guns at their junk. That’s hilarious right up until something happens and one of these numbnuts becomes no-nuts.

Well, OK, that’ll be hilarious too, but in a completely different way.

Folks, in all seriousness, take care with your firearms if for no other reason that every accident is a statistic that anti-Second Amendment types will use to try and justify further restrictions on our firearms.

Then there’s that whole “not putting extra holes into yourself” thing that would probably be a priority for almost all of us. Some don’t seem to care too much about that, though, which is why I’m listing it second.

Regardless, take care.

Far too many firearms have gone off while being cleaned. Still more have gone off while being “unloaded.” Stuff like this is why we have rules in place, but those rules are guidelines. You also need to use your own brain and be quite careful anytime you handle your firearm for any reason whatsoever.

My hope is that the gentleman in the above-linked story only had minor injuries and he’ll fully recover. With something like this, it’s impossible to tell, especially when whoever wrote the story clearly doesn’t know. Still, let’s hope he’s back up to full speed in no time flat. Let’s also hope his history becomes the cautionary tale that keeps someone else from being hurt or killed.

That’s the last thing anyone needs, regardless of any other details.

Remember, if you’re handling your firearm and think you’re being safe enough, take a step back and remember that your family loves you and needs you, so be even more careful.