In a miraculous bit of luck, a firearm that discharged when it was dropped in a restroom at the Old Faithful Lodge in Yellowstone National Park sent a bullet into a beam, not anyone in the restroom.
The firearm, described in some reports as a .45 caliber pistol, was dropped shortly before 1 p.m. Wednesday, said Yellowstone spokeswoman Charissa Reid. Among the five witnesses was one individual in a stall in the men's room, she said.
"They were in an adjacent stall, and the casing rolled underneath his stall," she said Friday afternoon. "We were very, very grateful that nobody was hurt."
By the time park law enforcement rangers arrived, the gun and its owner were gone, said Ms. Reid. They were able to retrieve the bullet from the beam, however, as possible evidence.
It's against the law in Yellowstone National Park to discharge firearms in the park, and it's against the policies of Xanterra Parks & Resorts, the lodging concessionaire at the park, to bring firearms into buildings, she said.
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No big deal. Just a good American Patriot exercising Second Amendment rights.
Meanwhile, in Utah, at least two toilets were killed by guns dropped in restrooms. One was in an elementary school when a teacher dropped her bang banger. The other was in a fast food restaurant.
Wanna bet that if the witness in the other stall had been suffering from constipation, he was no longer plugged up within seconds after the big noise.
Lets see Lee, which of the following has caused the least injuries/fatalities in a National Park. Trees, rivers, lakes, geysers, bears, cliffs, lightening, exposure, automobiles, landslides, airplanes, firearms. Thats right, firearms. Perhaps we should outlaw all the rest.
Now you know the origins of the 19th Century expression "Don't go off half-cocked." Then, "safety" was the half-cocked position on the hammer, which could become full cocked when pushed down someone's pants. Ooh, let's not go there!
Seriously, there is a wonderful book, THE PLAINS ACROSS, by John Unruh, telling the story of the overland trails. Apparently, the greatest causes of death were cholera, wagon and fording accidents, and then gun accidents. Indian attack was dead last--and very minor compared to the number of people who headed west on the Oregon and California trails.
Is there a lesson in there somewhere? Yes, and it again has to do with history. For the most part, it is poorly taught--and poorly told--especially by Hollywood "revisionists."
Now, what are we to make of this Yellowstone "incident?" Two hundred years from now, I can imagine another John Unruh, reading through the superintendent's reports, lining up the REAL causes of death in Yellowstone. The media would like us to think that the second amendment is bad, but why is no one taking on the automobile? Four million dead since 1912 and the "invention" of Henry Ford's assembly line. I grant that guns are an American obsession, but the automobile is by far the bigger obsession. I don't worry about being shot in a Yellowstone bathroom, but yes, I do worry about being killed on its roads.
Irresponisble. Nuff said.
If the 45 was a colt 1911 type semi-automatic and the hammer was resting on the firing pin it could go off if dropped on the hammer. The fact that the spent casting went into the next stall means it wasn't a revolver because the casing would be in the cyclinder and a semi-automatic would eject it. A 1911 type would be safer if half cocked and dropped.