A police officer in Glasgow, Kentucky is suing Barren Outdoors. The employee handed him a loaded gun, which he failed to check, and he blew off part of his left index finger.
Go ahead and laugh: he’s going to win.
Note to gun store customers: putting your hand over the muzzle won’t stop a bullet and it doesn’t exempt you from Rule #2. Don’t point the weapon at anything you can’t pay for. Nobody wants to hear, “it’s unloaded.” I’ve lost count of how many times that phrase has turned out to be a lie.
Note to gun store employees: clear the gun before handing it to a customer because the customer won’t check it. Seriously, 87.4% just of them just start dry-firing away with wild abandon as soon as they’ve got their sweaty mitts on it.
Note to gun store owners: you can and will be sued for this. Comparative negligence might mitigate the damages, but you’re going to have some of the liability. You can quote Rule #1 to a jury until you’re blue in the face. It won’t help. It’s not normal practice to hand someone a loaded gun.
There were many mistakes in this situation, but the chain of events began with the employee failing to take his responsibilities seriously. It just takes one lapse.
One thought on “You Only Get One Chance At This”
Customers come in, they ask to handle a gun, I hand it to them, and they press their palm against the muzzle. I don’t know why they do that but it makes me wince. For that reason among others, I’m careful to check everything I hand over.