Learning to shoot isn’t always the easiest thing to do, especially if you don’t know a lot of people familiar with firearms. Yes, there are classes all over the place, but they’re not exactly cheap–and you should probably be concerned about any shooting class that is–and sometimes you just don’t know where to start.

So I get people struggling to some degree to learn what they should or shouldn’t do with their new firearms and how to use them effectively.

I’m pretty sure that contrary to what this woman said, that’s not what she was doing.

A woman is behind bars after deputies said she fired a gun multiple times in the air while she was trying to learn how to shoot a pistol, according to an arrest affidavit.

…

Webster said she was learning how to use the firearm, according to an affidavit.

https://twitter.com/ShelbyTNSheriff/status/1460999442480472078?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1460999442480472078%7Ctwgr%5Ehb_1_7%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fox13memphis.com%2Fnews%2Flocal%2Fwoman-charged-after-firing-gun-air-apartment-complex-while-learning-how-shoot-police-say%2FJGCPNA2GMZE6PDVXW3BICCJTIE%2F

Webster was also apparently intoxicated because of course she was.

Look, I can get trying to learn how to shoot and I can picture someone being stupid and not thinking through where they were trying to learn, but I find it difficult to believe anyone could shoot up into the air and actually believe this is how one learns to shoot. I just don’t see it.

No, being drunk doesn’t excuse that. I’ve been so intoxicated I had to hold onto the grass to keep from falling off of the world and I still would have thought that was a stupid idea.

So what was she doing when she allegedly fired?

Damned if I know. It could have been any number of things, including trying to scare the crap out of someone. If so, Webster probably new that was a charge and thought claiming she was trying to learn to shoot would land her a lesser charge.

She might not even be wrong.

Regardless, these kinds of people make life more difficult for the rest of us. People will see this and think about how maybe folks should have to get a license to get a gun or get mandatory training before they can buy a gun, or something like that. It’s one of those things that will push some a bit closer toward the anti-gun side.

How does that help anyone?

It doesn’t. It just makes a bigger mess of things.

I don’t think Webster cares one way or another. She’s someone who had a gun for whatever reason and then misused it for whatever reason. Allegedly, of course–it should be remembered by everyone that she hasn’t been convicted of anything. However, if she is convicted, she’s not likely to have a firearm lawfully again. Reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon is a Class E felony in Tennessee, where this happened. That’s going to put her on the prohibited list for the rest of her life unless she gets her rights restored.

But after this stunt, I don’t see how that would happen.

Either way, I think we can all agree that this isn’t how you learn to shoot.