Beth Wethington: Forgetting firearms
Regarding the Feb. 12 news article “Former UNC leader arrested after gun found at airport”: John Fennebresque explained the presence of a Smith and Wesson handgun in his briefcase as an “honest, stupid mistake.”
His casual dismissal of forgetting where he had left his firearm does not do much to reassure me as a proponent of stricter gun control. It is difficult to accept arguments for responsible gun ownership when forgetting where we put them is as silly a mistake as, say, forgetting to put the ice cream back in the freezer.
Even worse is Fennebresque’s membership in the “idiot club,” joining the “thousands” who make this an inconvenience that apparently “happens a lot.”
If we are going to take serious measures to minimize the possibility of accidental shootings, weapons falling into criminal hands and mass murders, we had better make sure we remember where we leave a gun.
Forgetting where our guns are is not something that should happen even once, much less a lot.
Beth Wethington
Henrico
This story was originally published February 22, 2016 at 5:16 PM with the headline "Beth Wethington: Forgetting firearms."