By now, most everyone has heard the report of an Arizona legislator pointing a gun at someone in the state Capitol. The red dot from a Crimson Trace Laserguard gunsight, attached to a little Ruger LCP .380 pistol, tracked across a reporter’s chest at one point. It’s been all over national news.  The senator in question is being painted as everything from a poor example of firearms safety to, as one person put it, “a psycho-chick.”

Reminding us once again that it’s always good to get both sides of the story before joining in a rush to judgment, I offer you this from our friends at TTAG, The Truth About Guns dot com.  http://thetruthaboutguns.com/2011/07/daniel-zimmerman/senator-lori-klein-gives-ttag-her-side-of-the-story/.

Links within the link will complete a “both sides” perspective.  What’s your take?

Please let us know here, in the comments section below.

The Ruger LCP with the Chrimson Trace Laser Grip

And from our friend Oleg Volk, The raspberry version of the gun.

1 COMMENT

  1. If someone steps in front of the gun (that you’re already pointing in a safe direction, right?) you should (a) try to point it elsewhere that is a safe direction and (b) admonish them to their error. It doesn’t matter whether you believe the gun to be unloaded.

  2. Rookie politican got suckered by a hostile (but maybe not openly-so) reporter who tricked her into a compromising situation.

    This is why I treat most stories on azcentral.com the same as I do the Phoenix New Times (just with less open degenerate-ness)… with plenty of salt and a healthy dose of skepticism. Those folks are absolute SNAKES.

    Yes the senator was responsible and I think she took the appropriate amount of responsibility for her actions, but the reporter has the greater blame for 1) intentionally putting himself into a dangerous situation and 2) twisting the truth instead of reporting the truth. Shame shame SHAME on him and all of his colleagues who would do likewise or WORSE just to get egg on a political enemy’s face that they don’t actually deserve.

    Yet one more reason I detest the Left. This is right out of their playbook, not ours.

  3. Senator Klein re-learned two important lessons: never trust the press, and never flash your piece.

    Very unfortunate situation. The damage has been done and the antis now have another “bite” to use against us. Sad indeed.

    JMHO, of course.

  4. I believe it was unintentional on the Senator’s part.

    Furthermore, I think the incident could have been planned on the reporter’s side as well. Considering the bias against guns with most of the media and how far some of them are willing to go to make firearms and their owners look bad. It doesn’t seem too far fetched to at least consider the reporter’s actions as deliberate (BATFE or Bloomberg anyone?).

    Although, I’ll admit the reporter might have been trying to get a better look at the round in the chamber through the barrel… I’ve heard tales of TSA agents checking for loaded firearms that way…

  5. Idiotic Senator. She shouldn’t be whipping out her piece for a show-and-tell. Did she unload the gun when she did this? Was she sure of what she was pointing the gun at? (a wall with maybe people behind it) Outside of the range or her home she should not be doing this. This sort of behavior gives all legal civilian concealed carry folk a bad name. This sort of behavior is also used by the anti-Second Amendment crowd to fuel anti-gun legislation.

  6. Tactically speaking, you don’t want a gun finish that attracts attention – or looks like your grandson’s cap gun – anyhow.

  7. She’s an idiot … which seems to be a necessary skill to be a legislator these days. (I’m a resident of the state of Arizona.)

  8. Most gun ranges I’ve been too will ban someone who, intentionally or not, loaded or not, points a weapon at someone else. “You are banned for life. Leave and don’t come back!”

    The Arizona senate should adopt this policy, retro-actively.

  9. Well from personal experience I think the LCP is a horrible gun. Is there such a thing as too small, too light? Either way the trigger gives me nightmares. Make something that size but with an alloy frame and a good trigger, and we’ll talk.

    Still a horrible gun is 900% better than no gun.

    Senator Klein made a rookie mistake, both as a senator and as a concealed carry holder. Hopefully she learned from this, hopefully it doesn’t end her career.

  10. I’m all for strict safety measures – but come on…

    Haven’t you ever made a mistake. I have – and I’m thankful that people helped me be responsible and didn’t just throw me away.

    I think the senator took responsibility. I think she avoids blaming the reporter (which is gracious & smart because she can only know her own intentions and not his – although I’m inclined to believe the reporter was setting her up.) Also, the senator is taking a safety course as a refresher – something we should all do.

    Mistakes happen. What helps us measure whether someone should be a leader is how they take responsibility and how they learn from the situation. If we only want perfect leaders – we will be leaderless.

  11. I am a life-long Democrat with a concealed handgun permit (and a S&W 442 in my pocket holster), so I suppose on paper at least that enables me to see both sides of the issue? In reality, all I can see is the fog created by the very angry people on both sides of the incident. I really hate how difficult it has become to have rational discussions about firearms, firearm safety, rational firearms laws, and the right we have as American citizens to defend ourselves.

    I hope, I hope, I hope that anyone who carries a .380 knows enough to never let its barrel/laser point at anything they do not intend to shoot. And I confess to thinking that anyone who buys a “raspberry gun” is possibly just vain or style-conscious enough to want to show it off.

    At the same time, I long ago lost my faith in the objectivity of American journalists, so it would not surprise me to learn that the journalist in question was more interested in meeting their needs of their ego or personal agenda than in telling the truth.

    And thus we come to the problem. Without a reliable videotape (and of course Mas has shown us that even an “objective” videotape can be misleading) we will never know what actually happened.

    My gut feeling is that she was suckered into this situation, and did her best on the front end to make sure that the gun was empty, etc.

    That being said, I wish she had simply said to the journalist, “I don’t carry this weapon to show it off, I carry it to protect my life. I’ll be happy to direct you to a firearms safety course where your curiosity about weapons can be safely addressed.”

  13. Well I think the senator learned her lesson. Yeah she should have known better but I wouldn’t go as far as calling her an idiot. We need all the pro-2A people we can get.

    Sure most of us here have the Four Rules and more ingrained but a lot of others on our side don’t. How many times have we’ve been muzzled by someone that should have known better? Heck I still get muzzled at some gun stores.

    Anyway, I doubt that Senator will be doing anything like that again.

  14. Key Point here that the headline only knee jerk reaction folks seem to miss: “The reporter then approached her, momentarily getting himself between the gun and the wall. The Senator said that as soon as she realized the laser was on his chest, she immediately lowered it. She also made a point of saying that she doesn’t know whether or not Ruelas got in front of the gun intentionally or not.”
    Don’t let yourself get spoon fed my the lame stream media.

  15. I think James has the right idea. The reporter baited the Senator and she bit hard. Senator Klein exercised very poor judgment even before she exposed her pistol; she trusted a reporter.

  16. As a left leaning gun owner I don’t see the conflict here. A responsible gun owner does not “whip it out” on request. She was showing off, it was a stupid mistake. To blame the reporter makes no sense. Her politics are irrelevant. Guns are like genitalia, it’s ok for people to know you have them, but don’t show them off.

  17. She should not have pulled her gun. I carry concealed and I was asked once by a friend to see my gun while in public. I told him I only remove it from the holster in a life or death situation, at home, or on the range. I then invited him to go to the range with me sometime and I’d even let him shoot it. Situation diffused!

  20. Her story does not change my opinion. The answer to “can I see your gun?” is “no.” Then there’d be nothing to have to try to make excuses for. BTW, did she know what/who was behind that wall she pointed at?

  21. I’ve been around guns for over 40 years, and when I think back on the knowledge and abilities I’ve aquired on the subject to this point in my life, it occurs to me that in the past, I’ve done some pretty stupid things with a firearm out of sheer ignorance. Ten years from now I may think the same thing all over again, because the learning curve has no end. This whole scenario strikes me as one of those incidents. NO party involved had the requisite minimum knowledge or training required to safely participate in gun “show and tell”, an event I don’t see as necessary in that format to begin with. I can’t and won’t further analize the event, because I just don’t know enough about it and it would be useless blather (maybe it has been to this point?), but it sure SEEMS like she needs more training. I know for certain, the more I learn, the more I realize I need to learn. The more I realize there IS to learn. And how little I truly know in comparison. I am taking steps this year to start rectifying my deficiencies. She should too. It’s never too late. All you can do it keep learning. There are no guarantees. It’s a never-ending, relentless pursuit of safety. Drop your guard one time and Mr. Murphy stands at the ready.

  22. Do ya spose he wanted to see where the light was coming from? BOZO! Stepping in front of a gun. Is the ” sensationalism of the story worth your life? Oh duh he’s a lefty.

  23. She never should have unholstered her weapon, especially at the request of a reporter. She has now moved herself into a tie for first place with Eric Holder as the ‘Bonehead of the Week’ on Armed American Radio.

  24. 1) We take up a collection to buy the Senator a real gun. Without a laser.
    2) Second collection to send her to LFI 1 where she will learn there is no acceptable reason for pointing a gun at anything you’re not ready to destroy and that CONCEALED MEANS CONCEALED. Now every loon in the country can describe her FORMERLY CONCEALED gun and hit her with brandishing or threatening anytime they get the urge.

    I carry everyday everywhere I legally can and have since 1999. Maybe 10 trusted people on the planet know what it is.

  25. Great discussion everyone.
    I only wish that the folks on the other side of the 2A debate read this blog.

  26. What a surprise, a lying and dishonest reporter! I’m shocked!

    What I truly shocks me are the fools here who leap to condemn an ally who was tricked while giving a pass to the lying trickster! Let’s kill our own on command from our enemies.

    Good grief people, where’s your heart? Where’s your judgement of evil and compassion for victims?

    How many here would anticipate someone intentionally jumping in front of your gun? I’ve never heard or seen it happen in my five decades of gun-handling experience.

  28. This event falls into the category we all seek to avoid. Personally, I would never take my weapon out when someone just wants to see it. That was the main error. Casually demonstrating anything on the gun, including the laser was another error. Allowing someone to move into the “line of fire” was another error. Unrelated to these errors, not having a round in the chamber is another error depending on one’s perspective.

    I am always aware of where my weapon is pointing and I do my best to keep it from pointing at people I do not intend to shoot.

    This sort of mistake is easy if one is not in the right frame of mind. I realize Senator Lori Klein had no desire to endanger anyone or to mishandle her gun. It should have been instinctive to any experienced person involved in a non-shooting demonstration to clear the weapon first. Also, she should always maintain full control over where the weapon points.

    I spend a great deal of time with my kids and the weapon status is always under control. I never show anybody my carry gun while it is being carried. I do not admit I am carrying. If you are not a cop, I will likely lie about being armed.

    We all come up short from time to time. Some things should have us looking back at the practices and procedures related to the events highlighting our preparedness.

    Anyway, I think the training Senator Lori Klein has needs a refresher. That is not to be meant as an insult. I am constantly opting for training on things I have done for years. I get additional and refresher training on weapons, motorcycles, driving and professional development. I always review the basics. I am always learning new things or relearning things I forgot.

    If this event indicates anything, it is the need for all of us to review the basics from time to time. None of us are infallible, including Senators.

  30. Seemed like, in the interview, the reporter made a big point that the gun “had no safety” as an indicator that it was poised to “just go off.” This model is a DAO and doesn;t need a safety because it requires a full and conscious pull of the trigger to fire it so there was no danger of it going off, even if there was a round in the chamber.
    I do agree that likely the reporter “created” the situation either through purpose for the story or through stupidity.

  31. She made a mistake and took the bait and violated safety and ettiquette–if not the law. Intrinsically, the reporter wasn’t in danger, but he got his anti gun story. She screwed up, but she knows it. She’ll not mess up again.

    Don’t trust the news media.

    In the Arizona shooting, an armed citizen who responded to the gunfire was interviewed a number of times by reporters whose purpose wasn’t to get his story—-they wanted him to say he almost shot an unarmed man, which he did not.

  32. Keep the thoughtful comments coming.

    Rick, I’d heard it before, but thanks for sending the link again. I think the timeline could fit: people move quickly. Hard for us to tell without being able to see exact body positions of all players…

    …makes us wish for video….

    …classic example of “he said, she said” …

  33. Ok, she made a mistake. Life goes on. She learned her lessen. Remember folks, she is on our side. Let’s not beat up on her too much . She is very open on what happened and made it right. Thats to show us that reporters should be screened when the issue about guns comes up. They will fry you. Especially if anti gun reporting is on his agenda. Do I here setup. I applaud her for not hiding out until It blows over. She stood by her guns (no pun intended ), and gave the full side of what happened. We cannot ask for more than that ..

  34. She made a mistake? Her story seems to imply that she is taking responsibility for the idiocy of that reporter. Taking responsibility that isn’t hers to take might be her mistake. I’d like to know whether or not that reporter did it on purpose, because if so, that would be a perfect way to demonize a gun-rights-activist state legislator and alienate the gun rights supporters in the media in AZ for awhile (since Loughner didn’t do that already).

    Let’s not alienate this senator, because that’s ***EXACTLY*** what the “antis” would want us to do.

  35. The reporter is a reporter for a newspaper who is only friendly to RINOS and liberals. OF COURSE he wanted his anti-gun story. The fact that one moment the reporter wasn’t in front of the muzzle, the other moment he WAS tells me ALOT about him and his motives considering who he works for.

    We should not be lambasting this senator over a rookie mistake. She did not intentionally muzzle him and actually tried to NOT point it at him. He simply moved in front of it. Upon recognition, the senator did the RIGHT thing in immediately lowering the muzzle. She also had her finger along the frame the entire time, not on the trigger.

    Those willing to condemn her from their armchairs should stop the friendly fire here. Not everyone who tries to be a responsible gun owner and concealed carrier is a devout keeper of the holy law of smart CCW, and its downright pharisaical to demand this woman’s condemnation as an idiot to do so.

    Put the blame where the blame deserves to go: the blame for making a rookie mistake goes onto the senator, both for letting a reporter step in front of the muzzle and for letting him get her to do anything more than tell him what she carries and that she does carry. The blame for creating the situation and escalating it and for creating the unsafe conditions in the first place is the reporter himself. HE is the one we ought to be crucifying in the blogs and media, not this poor woman.

    Get off y’all’s high horses and get a dose of compassion.

    ~James
    A Citizen of Arizona

  36. I don’t condem the senator for a mistake she made. As long as she learned from it and she has taken responsibility for her actions. But what I haven’t heard mentioned in any of this is what was her backstop when she brought the weapon out? Marble walls? or Drywall? Who might be in the adjoining room? That’s another reason to not bring the weapon out. and it makes for a good reason to explain to a reporter who likely has so little exposure to guns that they don’t grasp what all the safety issues are.

  37. I think a lot of people seem to be taking sides which is incredible as we weren’t there to see what actually happened, nor was the “situation” caught on tape. People believe what they want to believe. That’s what I think.