5. Guns are not unsafe or unpredictable. Modern firearms are well-made precision instruments. Pieces do not simply break off causing them to fire. A hot day will not set them off. Most modern firearms will not discharge even if dropped. There is no reason to be afraid of a gun simply lying on a table or in a holster. It is not going to discharge on its own.
So very true that is. Where I live, last year, we had record setting temperatures over 100 degrees for weeks at a time. Ammunition in my car did NOT go off, nor did I fear that it would. I have even dropped my pistol in the past, loaded, accidentally. No bang.
While some poorly made old firearms may be an exception, and everyone 'knows' a story about a brother's cousin's friend's father's co-worker's son who bumped a nightstand and his gun went off shooting a bunch of rounds, I prefer to stay in reality.
A Gun fires when the firing pin strikes the round. The firing pin strikes the round when the spring releases. The spring releases when the hammer (internal or external) is released. The hammer is released after it is pulled back. The hammer is pulled back either by pulling the trigger or manually cocking it back (for an external hammer). With very few exceptions, that is how it works. Semi-auto pistols are a bit different in that there is not a real 'hammer' system as just springs and such.
You pull the trigger and it fires. Looking at it won't fire it. Smelling it won't fire it. Laughing at it won't fire it. Hating it won't fire it. Banning it won't fire it. Only pulling the trigger will fire it.
Any (true) story you've heard about someone getting shot involved pulling the trigger. Someone pulled the trigger, or let something block and pull the trigger. On another day we'll cover 'accidental discharges'
Don't be afraid of a firearm. RESPECT a firearm, but do not have a fear of them. Fear of a firearm is as rational as fear of a hammer. Respect what it can do, and always act as though it is loaded. Do not point them at anyone and do not play with them.
However, remember that if anyone tells you about how that gun just 'went off' and killed a little child.... they're lying. It didn't 'go off’... someone pulled the trigger.
