I'm anal to the point of being a PITA when it comes to firearm safety. This is why!!

[calynn]

You don't leave yor keys in the car in the driveway do you?

Yeah, I do. I have the ignition key on a separate ring, and my key fob with my house keys/dorm keys/gun lock keys/other important keys on another, which is in my pocket. The mentality that I have with this is that if I can get to the truck I will be able to drive it away, in any situation (it's got keyless entry on the door). So even if I don't have my key ring in my pocket, I can open the door and drive my truck if I need to.

It's a '97 Explorer and isn't worth anything and I live in rural NC, local town population 150 so theft of vehicles is essentially nil, and I don't leave the keys out in the open, so it's not like someone would see them in there.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[Janq]

An update to the victims story:

Chrissy Steltz, who lost her face to shotgun blast, undergoes last surgery before getting prosthesis
By Special to The Oregonian
May 04, 2010, 10:38AM


Chrissy Steltz and her son, Geoffrey Dilger Jr., at an earlier meeting with her doctor.

Chrissy Steltz undergoes today what she and her doctors hope will be her last surgery before she gets fitted with a prosthetic mask to replace her own face, which was ruined by a shotgun blast 11 years ago.

Today's operation at Legacy Emanuel Medical Center is expected to take about two-and-a-half hours and won't keep Steltz in the hospital overnight, said Dr. Eric Dierks, who heads her surgical team. The main purpose is to remove scar tissue and make minor adjustments in eight screw-like titanium implants that surgeons drilled into the bones above and below her vacant eye sockets in February.

Those implants will serve as "footings" for a facial prosthesis that Steltz hopes to start wearing this summer, once the implants have fully fused with the bone. The prosthesis will snap onto the implants, held in place by tiny magnets.

"I'll be getting my new face in July," Steltz said last month after consulting with Larry Over, the maxillofacial prosthodontist in Eugene who will design and sculpt the prosthesis. It will have a realistic nose, silicone "skin" and acrylic eyeballs hand-painted to match Steltz's original green-tinted eyes.

Steltz was 16 when she was shot in the face at a party of unsupervised teenagers at her boyfriend's apartment in Southeast Portland. Police ruled it an accident, with alcohol involved. The sideways blast blew away her eyesight, nose and cheeks – but caused no lasting brain damage. Half an inch farther back into her head, Dierks said, it could have killed her.

Steltz, now 27, lives in Milwaukie with her longtime partner, Geoffrey Dilger, who is blind, and their 9-month-old son, Geoffrey Jr.

Since stories about Steltz's journey toward a new face appeared in The Oregonian, her case has attracted international media attention. She was featured last month on ABC-TV's "20/20," and a German television team will attend today's surgery.

-- Don Colburn

Source - Chrissy Steltz, who lost her face to shotgun blast, undergoes last surgery before getting prosthesis | OregonLive.com

- Janq

[paullie]

the op is worth reading or a re-read

[TerriLi]

Thanks Janq, this a good reminder.

[Devilsclaw]

Well I don't agree about the part of ALWAYS keeping them locked up. But this sad story brings out a good point.

The problem is always with the "friends" that these kids bring into the home, that have never been taught how to handle firearms safely. We have always had loaded firearms in the house, (needed to for varmints) and have never had any problems with OUR kids messing with them, as they had been taught what they were, and how to handle them. My brothers and I grew up the same way. Yes, when the folks were gone, I "messed" with them, but because I had been taught properly, even when I was "messing" with them, I observed more safety than most of the adults I have observed at gun shows and shops. All of my friends in high school were taught the same. We were never unsafe with firearms.

So, while I think it is not necessary to lock up firearms at all times, I DO think it is a really good idea to lock them up if your kids have company. Best is not to let them have "guests" of the caliber of this horse turd over to begin with, but kids will sometimes surround themselves with stupid kids, so best to be safe. It is also good to teach them to recognize bad handling behavior, and to get the heck outta there if they are in a place where this stuff is going on. Shame on the stupid jerk's parents for not instructing him.

[calynn]

Another reminder: be very deliberate when handling a firearm.

[azchevy]

I store my weapons loaded, they are all over my house. I have no kids. In 20+ years I have never had an issue. Handle them with respect and nothing will happen. It takes a numbskull with a trigger finger to cause and AD. I am not locking anything up. I don't need to or care to.