Layers of Safety

When it gets cold outside, anyone with experience is going to tell you to use layers instead of only a fat parka. That way, you can manage layers to keep from getting overheated and sweaty. The way each layer creates it’s own micro-climate creates a great deal more resistance for the cold to overcome before it gets to you.

In the same way, the rules of gun safety create defensive layers against the ever present risk of negligent discharge.

Murphy's law simply put, states that if it’s possible for something to happen - it eventually will. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murphy%27s_law) We as humans have this thing where we just make mistakes. It’s how it is - no matter how much experience and skill we have, if we don’t have multiple layers of safety to protect against the human error factor, a negligent discharge is possible and therefore, eventually will happen.

This is something I explain to every new shooter and every customer in the shop to buy their first handgun. After a certain number of layers of safety, there is virtually no chance of negligent discharge and even if somehow that happens, the rest of the layers of safety make sure that negligent discharge goes in a safe direction. 

Many negligent discharges happen during takedown for cleaning. And many of the involved injuries are to the left thigh. So the first layer of safety that I always recommend my customers implement is a secondredundant chamber check immediately before pulling the trigger to remove the slide on their Glock. That’s where the odds are. You know your gun is unloaded. You just checked it. But now that you’re ready to pull the trigger and remove the slide - all it takes is a second to eyeball that chamber again. Then of course, point the gun in a safe direction (ie - not your thigh) and do your disassembly.

Another layer of safety I always remind people of is to maintain positive control of their firearms at all times. This is something I heard preached by Ogden Utah’s Chief of Police, Randy Watt in his Practical Pistol Proficiency course that I’ve taken many times. Most of us take this rule for granted. But it deserves reminder, and it can require different measures depending on circumstance. For instance, when I lived on my own, I had easily accessible loaded guns in my locked residence. In a gated community. In a keycard-entry building. For me, that was positive control. It also meant I never left guests unattended.

Now, I have five little ones running around the house. And they have been taught and reminded, and protected, but you can bet that my security measures inside the house are completelydifferent. I know what I was like as a little boy. I was into everything… At least weekly. I just assume my boys are eventually going to have hands on my handgun safe - even though it’s in an off-limits room and hidden in the top corner of our closet. So that is stored separately from all the ammunition, locked at all times and I’ve got the key with me at work. The extra key, which only my wife and I know about is safely hidden in another place, and so far it maintains a comforting layer of dust on it.

I can already hear the user comments: “What good is a home-defense gun if you can’t get to it?” “if you teach them right, they won’t abuse it.” “My granddaddy had a loaded 12 gauge standin’ against the door all my growin’ up. We knew he’d tan our hide if we touched it, so we never did.”

Which brings me to another thing I always teach my new gun owners: There is a balance between layers of safety and tactical preparedness. There are a host of factors here. Thumb-safety or no, levels of retention on the holster, how accessible the gun is in your house, how you carry, how you store the gun while driving in the car etc. That balance is going to be different for every person. I’ve seen too many arguments made by people who are not going to be convinced otherwise to believe that there is one hard-and-fast solution to that balance. Furthermore, in my own experience, I have evolved in my own practices as my circumstances and skill and comfort level have changed over time.

I keep telling new gun owners - if you picked up a chainsaw with no experience, would you be afraid of it? Of course. And you should be. It’s a tool that can be very dangerous. It’s the same thing with Guns. They are tools that can be very dangerous; however, they can be a lot of fun when used safely. Experience having your layers of safety work for you build confidence and proficiency over time. Just like layers of clothing keep out the cold when you’re outdoors having fun, your layers of safety keep out Mr. Murphy and his negligent discharges.

Eric Pope defected from years of labor under the Wal-Mart Regime to work with Impact Guns Internet Division in Ogden Utah. He wound up out to the sales floor where his knowledge and experience have been a great asset to his customers and employer. Eric is an avid shooter, attending many professional tactical training courses.