I have kind of let Idiots With Guns slide off into obscurity from my blog. This was for several reasons. It was a difficult idea to explain. With each post I stated that the purpose was not to humiliate, but educate. Apparently many readers thought I was trying to educate those who took their ill conceived photos. That was not the case. The education was there for the viewers of the photos if needed, through discussion and comments.

I was surprised to learn that at least two gun forums banned links to my blog because of Idiots With Guns. They thought the photos glorified bad gun handling and provided fodder for the Brady Bunch.

Idiots With Guns posed a management problem. If I routinely made the posts on Friday, I needed to stick with that. That is tough when you work as well as blog.

Finally, there were the incessant questions of why Jeff Cooper and others did not get depicted on IWG, even though they allowed themselves to be photographed in similar ways. I even received attachments of other bloggers pointing guns at the camera, with demands that I publish those too, as Idiots With Guns.

Well, here is the deal. Idiots With Guns is coming back. The photos and videos of Idiots With Guns are done to promote discussion about gun safety. If you want to, join in the discussion. If you disagree, definitely comment. I'll publish IWG when I want to. I will determine which photo or video gets used. I encourage your participation. Idiots With Guns is about gun safety, but it is not the last word on the subject. I am certainly no gun safety guru. I learn from discussing these concepts, just as others do. At the very least, I want to dilute the Billy Bad Ass persona the subjects of these photos try to depict themselves as, by using them as an example of what not to do with a gun. So.......With that in mind, here we go again.....

The purpose of Idiots with Guns is not to humiliate, but to educate by promoting civil discourse about firearms safety. Every gun owner has seen people who, upon picking up a gun, just cannot resist pointing it at something they should not, with their finger on the trigger. Whether done through ignorance or absent mindedness, the results of these actions can be tragic. Many photos of guns being used dangerously are available on the internet. It is my hope that Idiots With Guns will transform these photos from dangerous examples of improper gun handling to the stimulus for discussion that promotes gun safety.


The Four Rules

1. All firearms are always loaded

2. Never let the muzzle of a firearm point at anything you are not willing to destroy

3. Keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot

4. Be sure of your target and what is behind it