gun peeps, help me out (NOT re:gun control)

[mominatrix]

This sounds like a completely idiotic lawsuit... and yet, the courts seem to be willing to let it go through.

can you convince me that it's got some rationality to it?

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Paralyzed cop suing Glock after his 3-year-old son shot him
By David Edwards
Wednesday, July 25, 2012 10:57 EDT





California’s Second District Court of Appeal said on Tuesday that a paralyzed Los Angeles police officer, who was shot by his 3-year-old son, could move forward with his lawsuit again gun manufacturer Glock.

Enrique Chavez’s lawsuit claimed that the Glock 21 had a light trigger and lacked a grip saftey, both of which could have prevented the shooting.

Los Angeles Judge Kevin Brazile dismissed Chavez’s case two years ago, saying that he had failed to show that an alternate gun design would have prevented the shooting. Brazile also said that a police department review of the handgun showed that the advantages outweighed the risk.

But earlier this week, the state appeals court ruled 3-0 that the suit could move forward, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. After reviewing evidence presented by Chavez’s lawyers, the court found that a grip safety “would minimize the risk of accidental discharge without undermining performance.”

In 2006, Chavez’s son accidentally shot him in the back after the off-duty officer forgot that he had left the loaded .45-caliber pistol under the front seat of this Ford Ranger. The child was not in a safety seat at the time.

www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/07/25/paralyzed-cop-suing-glock-after-his-3-year-old-son-shot-him/

[curmudgeon]

Idiodic, he is clearly at fault, this is why you keep guns locked up and unloaded. Also, why is he suing the manufacturer instead of the PD since that is the model they chose to purchase?

[bigt1]

The Glock trigger safety is a feature of the gun, if you don't want it get a Baretta.

The safety design will prevent the gun from firing unless the trigger is pulled (dropped, impacted, etc); it will not prevent the trigger from being pulled.

[mominatrix]

Can you speak to how light the trigger is?

Is there really that much difference in trigger lightness between models / manufacturers, that there are some a three-year-old could pull (which, I'd guess, is pretty light, given that my nearly-3-year-old doesn't have the hand strength to separate Legos) while there are others that are heavier?

Is this something people are aware of (compare / contrast) when considering different handguns?

[Chirp]

I'd have to get more specifics from H...he's the gun collector, not me. I have a tendency to tune him out when he gets into the gun conversations. He forgets I'm not his work buddies and I have no interest in the different features on different hunting rifles, pistols, whatever.


However, he mentioned something just this week that a lot of pistol manufacturers are getting away from having a separate lock mechanism and instead are just embedding the lock within the trigger.

We have one like that at our house (it's a Ruger). There's no lock button. When you pull the trigger, you can feel a notch where it unlocks. It's always unloaded, locked up and waaay out of DS' reach.


If his employer has a contract to buy all service pieces from Glock and if Glock doesn't manufacture a police weapon with a separate locking mechanism... I guess I could see where a judge would take the case.

[pescalita]

I'm gonna be clear - this lawsuit is bullshit.

Jul 27, 2012 13:33:49 GMT -5 curmudgeon said:

Idiodic, he is clearly at fault, this is why you keep guns locked up and unloaded. Also, why is he suing the manufacturer instead of the PD since that is the model they chose to purchase?

But my second hand knowledge of one course of business law told me that you being an idiot does not preclude someone else from being at fault. So I don't think, say, the fact that the kid wasn't in his car seat is relevant.

[penguingrrl]

I'm curious about a gun that's so easy a 3 year old can shoot it. While it still doesn't negate the fact that this guy was a moron who left a loaded gun out in a car with his unrestrained 3 year old, it could be a good argument for better safeties on guns. It shouldn't be that easy for a 3 year old to pick it up and be able to shoot it.