Titled:   Man Dies Days After Gun Went Off In Pants

Another reason the left should fear the gun-owning classes is the accelerated forces of Darwin inherent in gun ownership. Many feel called to own, train and use firearms, but there is always a minority who really need a little more help in understanding that power can be both good and bad, depending on the wielder.

On the good side are the relatively bright, solid, law-abiding, careful gun owners, who keep their guns under control, whether holstered, locked up - at least out of the reach of children. They practise good safety - assuming all guns are loaded, pointed in a safe direction, keeping your finger off that trigger and making sure they are well-maintained and functioning.

On the other side are the less bright, who tend to treat their firearms as toys, as an accessory - the types that look down the barrel after a misfire, tend to keep guns of dubious origin and regularly remove themselves from the gene pool.

A good example is Chavis Thompson, who decided it was good form to keep a loaded pistol tucked in the front of his pants. This wouldn't usually be a problem in itself, until it is combined with a few other factors. Namely sitting down while trying to tuck in into your waistband, combined with keeping your finger on the trigger.

This fatal combination was enough not only to result in a unexpected surprise for Chavis, the remove of certain bodily parts in an explosive manner, but also the severing of a major artery which eventually killed him.

The former Hubbard High School student and the eldest of four kids “was trying to holster the gun,” with his finger on the trigger, while sitting in his grandmother’s Honda, when “the gun went off,” said his cousin Ashlie Thompson.

Tucking a loaded gun into your waistband is not holstering. And not a clever thing to do while holding the trigger either. And the gun didn't "go off" all by itself. He shot himself in the undercarriage.

The overall result of this is a net increase in the proportion of bright, careful gun owners and one less Honda-borrowing, ganster-wanabee, pants-tucking young man. If this trend continues, the NRA may well end up merging with MENSA.

If you learn one thing from this sad example, make sure it is to not point any firearm, loaded or not, at any part of your body you feel an attachment to. After all, we all want to be on the brighter side, huh?