What a waste of time, money and valuable breathing air.

That is good step. There is no reason that any gun purchase should not have the gun safety course required to take possession. I go into chem plants and refineries all the time. All who enter are required to take different levels of safety training and it must be regularly updated.
There is no such thing as too much emphasis on responsible handling of guns.
As so many rightly say it isn't the gun, it is the person handling it that causes the problems. Why not address the real issue and do the best possible to teach AND refresh all who own guns safe practice? How many time have you read about so called experienced gun owners shooting themselves or someone else by accident? Usually had they followed the first rule of safe handling (make sure the chamber is emty and the gun is safe before handling) they or their victim would still be there.
I know nothing will catch the all bad guys, crazies or fools but taking a gun safety course will at least make more people think and realize what they have in their hands. To me that is a good step.

 

I always treat every weapon I hold as if it were loaded. First thing I do when handed a weapon ( if it hasn't been cleared already) is open the chamber, eject any mag that's in it, and inspect the chamber and barrel before I handle. But then again, I have been through extensive training and do not intend to shoot myself or anyone else.

I used to work armed security, and believe it or not... I worked with several morons who couldn't keep their hands of their weapon, always looking for a reason to unholster it, and would try and show me through some sort of skit what they'd do in a certain situation... which usually lead to pulling their weapon, aiming and doing the "bang" noise to simulate shooting someone.

I couldn't believe the disrespect these guys demonstrated when it came to the responsibility they had, and used to brag over and over about how they were itching to shoot someone. After sitting down with the company owner, and her not seeing any real issues with the behavior I quit. I will not be shot by one of those motards, or go down for one of them shooting someone unjustifiably.

You can put someone through all the training you want to, but if their irresponsible, you can not change that until they do something stupid.

 

Your point is well taken....we see on the roads everyday with idiot/asshole drivers.
However we need to do what we can.

 

You were also probably taught how to use a gun at an early age and understood the importance of gun and hunt safety.

 

To a degree yes. My dad was not a hunter but rather a pretty enthusiastic fisherman, so what little gun ettiquette I did recieve as at a young age was through Boy Scouts and my friends dad next door, since he was an avid hunter. But as I got older I took it upon myself to learn so we could hunt together, and I could pass a viable skill down to him. The ARMY also taught me proper weapon respect, and then as I got older I lived in the range for a few years, as I held a few jobs that required I carry a weapon.

 

And that's the biggest issue with gun safety, control, etc etc. You can't really do anything about stupid until it rears its ugly head. All of the training in the world can not over come stupid, you're either a responsible individual or you're not... while I agree there are a ton of people who own guns that shouldn't have them, being a free country means you allow the people the freedom to prove whether they're one of the stupid ones or not... and when they prove themselves to be one of the stupid ones, you punish them to the degree the law allows.

I had a buddy years ago who got a Lorcine .380, if you've ever seen one they're ugly, bulky and serve no purpose but as an expensive paper weight. Anyway, he was playing around one day, doing the same thing your buddy did and he ended up shooting off a couple of toes. Funniest damn thing I ever saw, but never hung out with him again... guy was a walking accident waiting to happen and bringing guns into the mix, I didn't want to be a statistic.

 

This is a pile of bull. http://www.theblaze.com/stories/201...-to-seize-firearms-without-a-warrant-lawsuit/