To The Self-Admitted Klutz from the Chicago Tribune

To the “self-admitted klutz” from the Chicago Tribune… in case you ever do decide to learn how to shoot, we’d like to offer you a few tips on gun safety:

1. ALWAYS keep the gun pointed in a safe direction
2. ALWAYS keep your finger off the trigger until ready to shoot
3. ALWAYS keep the gun unloaded until ready to use

And those are just the fundamentals of NRA’s safe gun handling, there are plenty of other rules you should read, review, and follow whenever you’re handling or operating a firearm. In case you missed it, you can continue to read them here.

The Chicago Tribune Opinion author chooses not to own a motorcycle, a riding lawn mower, or hang glider because he is afraid his actions will lead to his demise – but ridiculously makes the assumption that a hundred million responsible gun owners are klutzes just like he is. It’s quite the prejudicial generalization.

His criticism of the Indiana Governor for mandating additional training to guardsmen is quite contradictory. “You are perhaps surprised, as was I, and thought that’s one skill the Indiana National Guard has already mastered… Wasn’t the Indiana National Guard already proficient at shooting multiple varieties of guns, including service revolvers?” he asks.

Well, yes.

But do you think an athlete ever stops training or practicing to improve their skills? To master one’s art is to continually train, to continually improve.

It comes as no surprise that someone who uses anti-gunner websites as resources to back up their claims considers an organization with a proven reputation as a world-class leader in firearm safety training and education, “amateur gun patriots.”

Emphasizing safe marksmanship practices have been the core of the NRA for over 144 years. We offer more than 30 different training and safety programs, and currently have over 120,000 certified instructors, and over 65,000 law enforcement instructors have gone through NRA training programs as well. It’s nothing we haven’t said before… but I guess the anti-gunners aren’t getting the message.