Vice President Dick Cheney very carelessly - but accidentally - wounded a companion in the face, neck and chest while quail hunting in Texas on Saturday. But if you really want to see people recklessly shooting mouths off, you need to turn on the TV, check out the blogosphere or - sigh - read the newspapers.
The pot shots started as soon as news of the incident belatedly became public Sunday.
More errant rounds of reporting have focused on the fact that Cheney never took a hunter safety course, required in many, possibly all, states. In fact, few people his age have. Mandatory hunter safety laws enacted a generation ago generally grandfathered-in the adult hunting population at the time. And as valuable as hunter education programs are, they provide no guarantee of safety - just as driver's education doesn't ensure everyone drives safely (although hunter safety is far more effective than driver's education at reducing accidents). While every hunter might well benefit from some form of continuing education involving safety, it's a disservice to millions of gray-haired sportsmen to suggest they inherently share the vice president's carelessness. Safety is something you practice, not something you demonstrate with a certificate of completion.
Defenders of the vice president have shot back, missing wide of the mark as well. Some have suggested the shooting is no big deal, partly because it involved a 28-gauge, one of the smaller-bored shotguns. They've suggested the shooting victim shared the blame somehow for not announcing his position to Cheney. These are the kinds of things only people who know nothing of guns and hunting might say. The person holding the gun is entirely responsible for its safe use - in every circumstance. And the pellets exiting a 28-gauge shotgun fly just as fast and penetrate just as deep as comparable loads shot from larger shotguns. Trust us: Getting shot at close range by any shotgun is a big deal.
Others have described the accident as common. That's wrong, too. Strafing another hunter while swinging on a bird has become one of the most common shooting accidents - now that big-game hunters wear blaze orange and widely use telescopic sights, making it very difficult to mistake another hunter for quarry and making those shooting accidents rare. But the fact is no hunting accident is common. Hunting is extremely safe only because the vast majority of hunters take safety extremely seriously.
It's a cheap shot to suggest - as many are - that this shooting is a metaphor for the Iraq war. And it's wearying to watch and listen as people attempt to discern what the implications are for President Bush. Critics of the war and president have plenty of ammunition without trying to exploit Saturday's accident. Offering this as some example of the administration shooting first and asking questions later trivializes the fact that there's a guy in intensive care.
Plain and simple, Vice President Cheney didn't pay attention the way everyone who handles a gun must 100 percent of the time. There's no mitigating this lapse. But there's no need to blow it up into something else, something it isn't, either. He shot his pal while out hunting. That's plenty bad just as it is.
|
 |
 |
Add your comment now! Write your comment in the form below.
(Email address is for verification only. If you'd like to email a story, look for the link above)