Is it really an accident?

Is it really an accident?

Well, if I am “cleaning my gun” and it accidentally goes off, and in the process kills a friend, family member, or even my neighbor. I can face manslaughter charges. Depending on circumstance, and training it can be worst. There are actually dozens of stories online about just this, accidental discharge of firearms leading to death.

I was actually reading a story about a person who got 25 years because his gun went off accidentally during a robbery. Apparently shocked him so bad he fell to the floor and was tackled. Unfortunately, the victim didn’t live to see the end of the story.

What I have been thinking about all day is the less know careless acts of what can only be called murder. People do stupid things every day, and when it causes harm, they should be charged… That is unless something stupid I do causes harm. In that case, they should have kept their distance. I am thinking about blogging about my fire place cleaning this evening..

Anyhow, the point of my story. I have been working property management for over a decade now. I have seen many, many really stupid things in my career. Fires, falls, electrocution, suicides, murder, assault… The list can go on.
The first time I witnessed someone cooking on Charcoal in there house truly shocked me. I was called over by the neighbor, and I myself called the fire department. They had burned there ceiling lighting the briquettes. The house was full of smoke, and the family…IE husband and wife, simply couldn’t understand what they had done wrong. Where do you begin? Carbon monoxide, setting the place on fire, smoke inhalation; all things that could kill you.

Well, I rarely listen to the news on the local radio. That is why Al Gore invented the Internet, to listen to the news on pod-casts and read it on graphic and ad intense web pages. But I heard a story this morning about a case of carbon monoxide poisoning in Lynwood. Lynwood is actually the town of one of my apartment complexes. So, as the news story started I just assumed it would be another case of power outage, heater brought in and it gases someone.

As I heard the story, I couldn’t believe it. A family filled the fireplace with charcoal, and didn’t open the damper. There first clue that something was wrong was when the 3 year old fell to the ground after losing conscious. They are probably the type to just kick the kid and say get up you lazy A$#. Anyhow, they ended up calling 911. 3 people taken to the hospital, and the whole building were tested, found to have lethal levels of the gas, and subsequently evacuated well the aired out the place.

If someone had died, would it have been manslaughter. I am familiar with guns. I know how to handle them, and am completely aware that if my carelessness caused to gun to go off, then it is my carelessness. I also am familiar with BBQ’s. I know that fire burns, and fire kills. So, shouldn’t my carelessness get me a equal crime if it is a gun, a BBQ, or even a toaster in the hot tub.

Just my thoughts. Cheers.