The Vice President accidently shot another man – a lawyer – during a hunting trip this weekend. Read about the hunting trip here.
The owner of the ranch has placed comparative fault in play: the injured man “”came up from behind the vice president and the other hunter and didn’t signal them or indicate to them or announce himself.”
Mary Matalin’s take on it: “[The Vice President] felt badly, obviously. On the other hand, he was not careless or incautious or violate any of the [rules]. He didn’t do anything he wasn’t supposed to do.”
Hmmm. I think I remember from the Hunter’s Safety Course that I took in 1968 that one is supposed to look before you shoot. Here is what I learned:
Hunting Safety Tips
FOUR RULES OF FIREARM SAFETY
T – Treat every firearm as if it is loaded
A – Always point the muzzle in a safe direction
B – Be certain of your target, and what’s beyond it.
K – Keep your finger outside the trigger guard and off the trigger until ready to shoot.
Here is another view on the subject of safety, this one particularly focused on quail hunting: “Prior to moving on up and allowing the birds to flush, each hunter should visibly and mentally locate: each other, both dogs, the hunting rig, and the hunting guide if on a guided hunt. Each hunter should know in advance where he can and cannot swing the muzzle of his gun to follow an escaping quail.”
Why not just say “I’m sorry”? Why would you have your staff go out deny responsibility for what happened?
I guess that whole “personal responsibility” thing just applies to people who get hurt.
UPDATE at 9:56 A.M. Status report on the lawyer hit by the shotgun pellets.
UPDATE at 8:39 P.M. The Vice President did not have the appropriate license to hunt quail in Texas. Here is the citation.