ND

I know two people now who have had one. I am trying to explain to myself (and my wife) why this happened to them.

Yes, its easy to say they were bone-headed and never should have been given a gun and stop there.... but I like to dissect things:
What do you think:

We could say they did not follow the basic and essential rules that all gun owners/handlers should be taught and then follow all their lives (keep finger off trigger, first action should be to check if it is loaded etc). True, but -->

I have to wonder if a more fundamental reason could be considered to contribute:
Complacency - in other words, losing that respect we (most of us) first had when handling guns - loss of respect as a result of years of familiarity. "Oh my gun. I need to move my gun. It's just a gun; I am knowledgable about guns, so I will simply grab it and move it. Bang!"

Instead, we should be saying, "My gun! I need to move my gun. All guns have the potential to be lethal. I must take myself back to my first day when my instructor told me how to stay safe. I must religiously follow the rules I was taught,...even if it is late, I am tired, I am in a hurry - this is just too gol darn important! So I will assume it is loaded. I will keep my finger off the trigger and the first thing I will do is check to make sure it is unloaded (where appropriate). I will not direct the muzzle at anything I do not intend to destroy"

My thought here is that people are having NDs because they are treating guns like any household object, losing that respect, becoming complacent. And the fix for that is to Always, Always, Always STOP and remember to handle your gun differently, remember that respect, revert to your training EACH TIME.

"May that I never have an ND."