This is bad.  Is this guy a friend of ours?

Linky

Local Delegate Gets Surprise When Gun Goes Off
Jan 26th - 1:52pm

RICHMOND, VA. - A close call Thursday for a Virginia delegate whose gun discharged in his Richmond office.

Delegate Jack Reid was unloading his handgun when it went off. Nobody was hurt.

Reid told fellow delegates about the incident in a written statement. He said the handgun discharged as he was removing the clip. The bullet struck a bulletproof vest hanging in his office.

Looking somber and shaken, Reid apologized to other legislators for the incident.

Reid has a permit to carry a concealed weapon and such permits are commonplace in Virginia.

Visitors who have the permit are allowed to carry firearms inside legislative buildings.

(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved

Quoted: He said the handgun discharged as he was removing the clip. The bullet struck a bulletproof vest hanging in his office.

sure it did. kinda strange it just happened to hit a bullettproof vest. sounds like he was playing with an "Unloaded gun" and we all know its the unloaded ones that get people killed.

I second that theory. Dumb ass I guess he was never taught proper gun safety. Always make sure the gun is unloaded. Even if you are a politician.

Now our new governor wants the legislature to look at the issue.

Can gun control be far behind

Wonder if he was just checking to see if the vest would save his ass.

I just want to know if this guy is/was a legislative friend of gun owners.  Wouldn't it be interesting if he was an anti-gunner.  He's a Republican so chances are, he's on our side, but still... I'd like to know.

I wonder how many of them wear bulletproof vests.  

Quoted: I just want to know if this guy is/was a legislative friend of gun owners.  Wouldn't it be interesting if he was an anti-gunner.  He's a Republican so chances are, he's on our side, but still... I'd like to know.

Unfortunately he's one of ours: NRA Candidate Grades

It would have been nice if it had been a moron anti-gunner, but not our luck today.

Quoted: It would have been nice if it had been a moron anti-gunner, but not our luck today.

Respectfully disagree.  Either way the act would simply be someone behaving carelessly.  The political affiliation of the actor doesn't change the fact that a careless act happened.

Fortunately nobody was hurt.  Perhaps a lesson in finger discipline is in order.

Well, also on the plus side is that this demonstrates how important the 4 rules are.  The fact that nobody was hurt is due to the fact that the gun was pointed in a safe direction.  

Clip...  

Maybe he was bored and there were no ranges close.  

So I see he got tired of dealing with KC too.

Quoted: Quoted: It would have been nice if it had been a moron anti-gunner, but not our luck today. Either way the act would simply be someone behaving carelessly.  The political affiliation of the actor doesn't change the fact that a careless act happened.

Agree.

Quoted: Fortunately nobody was hurt.  Perhaps a lesson in finger discipline is in order.

Agree.

However I do think less potential harm to the cause would be done had it been a libtard, as his fellow libtards would forget about it more quickly than if it was one of them "right-wing gun nuts."

Coulda been a lot worse in incident and timing. 1 it coulda hit someone 2 it coulda happened at the begining of the sessions.

I hear this happens there a lot and am surprised this made any sort of news.

Quoted: I hear this happens there a lot...

Really?!?

Dont know that they go off often but have heard of several mishaps like people dropping them in the jon.

not the biggest deal of course, but the shot RIGHT into the vest does suggest maybe he was dryfiring teh gun at it to make sure it was clear or something.....  no?

Quoted: not the biggest deal of course, but the shot RIGHT into the vest does suggest maybe he was dryfiring teh gun at it to make sure it was clear or something.....  no?

Have to agree with that.   The odds that it would strike the vest, and at an angle that would not produce a ricochet, are too small for me to believe this was truly a pure accident.

Delegate's gun goes off in his office

BY HUGH LESSIG
(804) 225-7345
January 27, 2006

RICHMOND -- A visibly shaken Virginia lawmaker apologized to his colleagues Thursday after accidentally firing a handgun in his office while attempting to unload it.

But Del. John S. Reid could still call it a lucky shot: The slug slammed into a bullet-resistant vest that hung on the door.

He received the vest as a gag gift last year, but Reid wasn't laughing Thursday. His normally booming voice was stilled as he discussed the incident with reporters. He said he wasn't sure if he would continue to carry a gun.

"I've got some soul searching to do about that," he said.

Reid said he arrived at his office shortly before 9 a.m. and closed the door. He carried the gun, a small .380-caliber automatic, in the breast pocket of his sport coat. His normal routine is to remove the gun and take out the clip. He then pockets the clip and leaves the unloaded gun in his office.

He pulled the gun from its sheath and pressed a button to release the clip. "As I went to hit that, the thing discharged," he said.

He wore a small bandage below his thumb where the slide hit his skin.

Reid said he went to the Capitol Police, who sent an investigator to his office.

The Henrico County Republican then took the rare step of asking to meet with the House Democratic Caucus, where he apologized. He did the same for his Republican colleagues, then apologized publicly in a floor speech.

Asked later why he felt a need to apologize, his voice trembled as he said, "I just ... that's a reflection on everybody, in one way or another. I don't want to reflect negatively."

Reid said he's had a permit to carry a gun for about two years. He began carrying it because of phone calls he had received over the years. While he was never directly threatened, he said the calls made him uneasy.

State law allows people who have obtained the proper permit to carry a concealed weapon into the General Assembly building or the Patrick Henry Building, now serving as the temporary capitol.

Both buildings have metal detectors, but lawmakers and staffers generally are not checked.

Reid said he doesn't feel the need to be armed once he reaches the Square. The Capitol Police do a good job of protecting lawmakers and the public, he said.

Other lawmakers have reportedly carried guns on Capitol Square, where Reid and other conservatives staunchly protect gun rights in vote after vote.

Reid said the accident would not make him change his voting stance, but he will review his own habits.

"It's at least causing me to evaluate myself," he said.

Maj. Mike Jones of the Capitol Police said Reid would not be charged with a crime, because he did not deliberately fire his gun and he was not behaving recklessly.

"It was an accident," Jones said. "It was a significant accident. But for anyone who carries a firearm, it was a lesson learned."

Gov. Tim Kaine, who held an impromptu press conference on several issues Thursday, was asked about the incident and whether Virginia should change its law about carrying guns.

"I understand Jack's been a real trouper about it, but it does raise a safety question," he said. "You've got Boy Scout groups, pages, all kinds of folks walking around in the halls. So I think it's something the legislature needs to look at."

www.dailypress.com/news/dp-61737sy0jan27,0,5082585.story?coll=dp-widget-news


Apparently it wasn't his fault... the thing just discharged!  

The RTD reported that the pistol was a .380-caliber Kel-Tec P-3AT.  It has a very heavy DAO trigger and shrouded hammer, so I doubt it just "went off".



IF the second article got things right about how Reid unloads his pistol every day, I'm betting that he dropped the mag and pulled the trigger, dumping the round remaining in the chamber.

Cause:
dumb@ss

Effect (gun-law implications):
bad (regardless of what "side" the clown is supposedly on)

Gov. Tim Kaine, who held an impromptu press conference on several issues Thursday, was asked about the incident and whether Virginia should change its law about carrying guns.

Sounds like the press was pitching gun control softballs to Kaine.
[Sigh]This is going to be a long gubernatorial term.

Quoted: Gov. Tim Kaine, who held an impromptu press conference on several issues Thursday, was asked about the incident and whether Virginia should change its law about carrying guns. Sounds like the press was pitching gun control softballs to Kaine. [Sigh]This is going to be a long gubernatorial term.

Thank God we have VCDL

"His normal routine is to remove the gun and take out the clip. He then pockets the clip and leaves the unloaded gun in his office."

Anyone else see a step missing in Del. Reid's normal routine?

What a 'tard.
Gun safety is very easy:
If you don't want to discharge it, DON'T  PULL THE FUCKING TRIGGER!

Um why doesnt he just leave the damn loaded gun where it belongs when he is carrying it and take it home with him.

Quoted: Whatever the reason, at least no one got hurt. Luckily he did follow one of the safety rules for safe gun handling.

Rule 37b.  When pulling the trigger on a gun that may or may not be loaded, always point it at the body armor hanging in your office.





Yeah, it could have been worse.  Also, depending on the aftermath, it may yet become worse.

He should have hid the pistol and told people he got bored and threw a firecracker in the trash basket.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Whatever the reason, at least no one got hurt. Luckily he did follow one of the safety rules for safe gun handling. Rule 37b.  When pulling the trigger on a gun that may or may not be loaded, always point it at the body armor hanging in your office. Yeah, it could have been worse.  Also, depending on the aftermath, it may yet become worse. Whenever handling a firearm, it should always be pointed in a safe direction. It could be that the vest was the safest direction in his office.

I see were your going but its a huge leap for me to agree the door was the best place.