The visual image of what happened in that room made my flesh crawl.

 

I’m sharing this because even the visual image of what happened in that room made my flesh crawl.

From the Albany Times Union:

Jerome M. Hauer, Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s director of homeland security, took out his handgun and used the laser sighting device attached to the barrel as a pointer in a presentation [?!?!?] to a foreign delegation, according to public officials. It happened Oct. 24 in Albany at the highly secure state emergency operations center below State Police headquarters.

These officials, one of whom claimed to be an eyewitness, said that three Swedish emergency managers in the delegation were rattled when the gun’s laser tracked across one of their heads before Hauer found the map of New York, at which he wanted to point.  [?!?!?]

Hauer, commissioner of the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, was disabled by a stroke a few years ago and can be unsteady. He isn’t a law enforcement official. He carries the loaded 9-millimeter Glock in a holster into state buildings, an apparent violation of state law barring state employees from bringing weapons to the workplace, several witnesses say. [I, for one, am grateful to our elitist liberal overlords.]

[…]

Asked about the matter over the course of several weeks, Cuomo’s press aide promised to look into it but has repeatedly had no comment. Hauer’s communications officer, Peter Cutler, also promised to look into it, but he has declined to respond beyond saying he is unaware that it happened. “I’ve heard rumors,” Cutler said.

[…]

I would be in favor of stricter gun control laws…. for this guy!

Need a laser pointer? No prob.  Just USE YOUR GUN?!?

Okay, realizing that you have to give a presentation and you forgot your laser pointer…. walk over to the map and use your damn finger!

The hair stood up on my arms as I read of this stupid stupid stupid lapse of attention and discipline.  Assuming the man had any training, that is.  I can easily imagine that he, as one of the state’s liberal elite, was handed his CCW license without any of that tiresome gun safety course and training falderol.

Meanwhile, my law-abiding friends in New York find it nearly impossible to exercise their 2nd Amendment rights because of people like these.

UPDATE 6 Jan 0031 GMT:

In other news, from CBS:

Judge Overturns Chicago’s Ban On Gun Sales, Keeps It In Place For Now

CHICAGO (AP) – A federal judge has potentially opened a new market to gun dealers after ruling as unconstitutional Chicago ordinances that aim to reduce gun violence by banning their sale within the city’s limits.
U.S. District Judge Edmond E. Chang said Monday that while the government has a duty to protect its citizens, it’s also obligated to protect constitutional rights, including the right to keep and bear arms for self-defense. However, Chang said he would temporarily stay the effects of his ruling, meaning the ordinances can stand while the city decides whether to appeal.
The decision is just the latest to attack what were some of the toughest gun-control laws in the nation. In 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Chicago’s long-standing gun ban. And last year, Illinois legislators were forced by a federal appeals court to adopt a law allowing residents to carry concealed weapons; it was the only state that still banned the practice. The resulting law largely stripped officials in the city and surrounding Cook County of their authority to regulate guns, which especially irked officials in Chicago, where residents had to apply for concealed-carry permits through the police superintendent.

[…]
[…]

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
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29 Comments

  1. Gaetano says:

    [T]hree Swedish emergency managers in the delegation were rattled when the gun’s laser tracked across one of their heads before Hauer found the map of New York, at which he wanted to point.

    That means he swept the room with the barrel of his handgun. As a responsible gun owner, the thought of that horrifies me.

    Always assume every gun is loaded. I know instructors who even loath sweeping the room with a dummy “blue gun” to show new shooters what not to do.

    Unbelievable.

  2. Gaetano says: the thought of that horrifies me.

    I know. So dumb, in a creepy way.

  3. Never, never let your gun
    Pointed be at anyone.
    That it should unloaded be
    Matters not the least to me.

    Or, as my father says: the gun is always loaded. Even if you could swear it isn’t. And never point it at anything you don’t intend to hit.

    Stupid, stupid, stupid. A split second you could never undo, no matter how much you’d want to.

  4. The Masked Chicken says:

    The man had a stroke and still was carrying a gun??

    Anita Moore is right. Rule #1: The default is always to assume that the gun is loaded. Even if the clip is missing, there still could have been one bullet in the chamber.

    That being said, this is something I might have boneheadly done, if I knew the gun were empty and I weren’t thinking, since I tend to be a bit absent-minded about these sorts of things, which is, yet, another reason not to use a laser pointer :). Again, however, even when you think you know the gun is unloaded, Rule #1 is what everyone should think whenever they see a gun.

    My question is: could the laser sighter be removed from the gun and use, alone?

    Glad no one was hurt.

    The Chicken

  5. Moro says:

    At an absolute minimum his gun should be taken away for his reckless behavior and he should be fired. Totally unacceptable for anyone in any kind of situation to handle a gun so recklessly.

  6. benedetta says:

    It’s only going to get even more exciting for us in NY as Cuomo promises in the new year to legalize medical marijuana.

    Even high school kids in junior ROTC have the fundamental safety rule drilled into them. This “director of ny homeland security” is an embarrassment to the State of NY and our nation if he went through these antics in front of a foreign delegation.

  7. Random Friar says:

    I’m not blaming Mr. Hauer, if the stroke has impaired his judgment, but I do question the governor’s judgment in letting him be Director of Homeland Security for his state. Time to find a new position for the gentleman, or allow him to retire.

  8. DavidR says:

    Chicken;

    It depends. If the laser is a grip laser, then it is not practical; if it’s a rail attachment, then it is easier to remove it. In some cases.

    But what sort of fool uses a firearm laser as a pointer to a map?

    Every firearm is loaded.
    Never point it at anything you don’t want to shoot.
    Be aware of your background.

  9. Dienekes says:

    As an instructor, words fail me. There’s no cure for stupid on this side of eternity.

    This video shows what happens in such cases.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Vpuh6q2O_c

  10. Kathleen10 says:

    Gee to be one of the well-connected. No matter what, they keep their positions or even move up! They are the royals, the blue-bloods, and they all cover for each other against the rabble. (that’s the rest of us) We would be fired, charged, mocked, used as fodder forever and ever by the media and the left.
    Anyway he broke rule one about a weapon, never point at anything you wouldn’t shoot. Categorically rule one.
    He did that in front of a foreign delegation. Wow. Extremely poor decision, and I tend to blame the stroke. This gentleman needs to be removed from this position post haste. If he is extremely well-connected and has been in “public service” since God was a boy, watch for hypocrisy, delays, fudging, and evasions, then nothing will happen. That is how American royalty rolls. It will be like Benghazi. What! Nothing happened, this is a “false scandal”.

  11. Those handgun-mounted laser aiming devices of which I am aware (i.e.the common ones) are activated by slightly depressing the trigger. If this was one of those (which I suspect is the case), then Mr. Hauer has violated one of the fundamental, bedrock rules of pistol firearms safety, to wit, “keep your finger off of the trigger until the sights are on the intended target.” This is unconscionable, and the violator’s permission to carry (openly or concealed) at least while on duty should be immediately revoked, without exception.

    Pax et bonum,
    Keith Töpfer

  12. bookworm says:

    Well, actually, there IS fresh news concerning Chicago gun laws:

    “CHICAGO (AP) — A federal judge on Monday overturned Chicago’s ban on the sale and transfer of firearms, ruling that the city’s ordinances aimed at reducing gun violence are unconstitutional.

    “U.S. District Judge Edmond E. Chang said in his ruling that while the government has a duty to protect its citizens, it’s also obligated to protect constitutional rights, including the right to keep and bear arms for self-defense. However, Chang said he would temporarily stay the effects of his ruling, meaning the ordinances can stand while the city decides whether to appeal.

    “The decision is just the latest to attack what were some of the toughest gun-control laws in the nation. In 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Chicago’s long-standing gun ban. And last year, Illinois legislators were forced by a federal appeals court to adopt a law allowing residents to carry concealed weapons in Illinois, the only state that still banned the practice. The resulting state law largely stripped city and officials of surrounding Cook County of their authority to regulate guns, which especially irked officials in Chicago, where residents had to apply for concealed-carry permits through the police chief.”

  13. frjim4321 says:

    Actually pointing a laser at people is stupid enough.

    Also, FYI, my McAfee Site Advisor does not like something on this page … I keep getting a warning that some content on this page has been blocked due to material coming from a suspicious source.

    Also sent an email to this effect to the Reverend and Dear Blogmaster.

    [Thanks for that. We shall keep an eye on it.]

  14. Hank Igitur says:

    America get over your gun culture, it’s killing you! (A foreigner, I can just hear all the objections coming e.g. guns keep us safe etc)

  15. incredulous says:

    @Hank. LOL. Guys like you apparently only want the government armed. 40 million deaths by Stalin. 20 million by Hitler. Pol Pot. Kim Jung. Amin. Blah blah blah.

    Regarding “objections”, at the root of that word is OBJECTIVE. The problem with the leftists is they are blind to objective truths. Ergo, the leftist is still claiming “man made global warming.”

    Enough. Use fact and virtue, not emotion and feelings. Fact and virtue are Catholic. Emotions and feelings are diabolical.

  16. incredulous says:

    @frjim, I’m behind a Hampton Inn firewall and I’m getting the same sort of warnings, although Father Z’s blog itself passes through just fine.

  17. frjim4321 says:

    incredulous, yes, it seemed to resolve here around 11 PM CST. [Thanks again for the heads up.]

  18. Kerry says:

    “Fearless Fosdick”.

  19. Kerry says:

    Hank, ‘twern’t “America” wavin’ round that Glock.

  20. Sonshine135 says:

    Idiot, idiot, idiot, idiot……All other words escape me in describing this guy. He gives all gun owners a bad name, and maybe, just maybe, this was done on purpose.

    @Hank
    Homicide rates in the US are high only because of high density population centers that have restricted gun ownership from law abiding citizens. These are typical centers of social, European-style liberalism not conservative bastions of thought. With the spread of concealed carry permits, and increased freedom of firearm ownership, homicide statistics are actually the lowest they have been here in 20 years. The trend continues downward. Please reference the UNODC homicide statistics for 2013.

    Also, Switzerland mandates that every home keep an operable firearm. Consequently, they were the only country in the whole of Europe that was not invaded by Nazi Germany, and they have some of the lowest homicide rates. Have a blessed day!

  21. pontiacprince says:

    Am not a citizen of the US so what they do about guns is their business and none of mine.
    It is alarming the number of daily killings in the US by guns.
    But when some clergy make it an obligation in conscience (almost) to carry fire arms,perhaps each child could be presented with a weapon at baptism?

  22. nykash says:

    Dangerous… and not smart whatsoever. The People’s Republic of NY continues to amaze me.

  23. Kerry says:

    Pontiac Prince, I say arm the unborn.

  24. pontiacprince, and others talking about America’s “gun culture”: guns don’t kill people.

  25. letchitsa1 says:

    Now we have proof that a gun in the hands of a liberal is why we need gun control laws.

    Incidentally, my personal idea of gun control is keeping my weapon firmly in my possession and control at all times.

  26. letchitas1, I like your idea of “gun control”. :)

  27. Gaz says:

    When I was about 3 or 4 years old, I pulled a gun out of a cop’s holster one Sunday during Mass.

  28. Gaz says:

    I was exercising a 2nd amendment right even though I wasn’t a citizen.

  29. incredulous says:

    Sadly, emotional leftists do not use reason, intellect nor virtue to drive their decisions and actions simply don’t understand what is behind gun ownership. Hence, a member of the Chicago Mafia (Obama) who’s one of the most anti-gun, anti-Constitution, anti-Catholic leader in decades ends up fueling an explosive increase in gun sales along with a breathtaking expansion of the demographic mix of those supporting of a primary civil right, i.e. the right to defend one’s self.

    http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/jan/6/gun-sales-2013-break-all-records-due-obamas-gun-co/

    Ultimately, these natural law, God is the ONLY sovereign dissenters will do what tyrants have done since the start of history. They will keep attacking us even though we are in a position to defend our liberties and religious beliefs.

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