An article at nypost.com on one of Hitler’s ceremonial pistols caught the eye of Mike302000. The blogger called the deadly dull provenance post “fascinating.” Here’s the bit that entranced our friendly neighborhood gun grabber: “Of all his gifts, Hitler, who had a fondness for firearms, particularly prized the pistol and, after the day’s festivities, had the pistol shipped to Munich, where he kept it in a desk drawer in his apartment.” Mikeb goes there, equating Hitler’s [alleged] penchant for tacky pistols with American gunloonery. “Sounds like some of the guys I know,” Mikeb opines. “‘prized pistol,’ and ‘fondness for firearms’.” Well it sounds to me like Herr Hitler was an irresponsible gun owner . . .
Hitler’s mistake: leaving a gun unsecured in a drawer. In this fundamentally unsafe practice, there is linkage between the Führer and millions of American gun owners who keep a loaded firearm in a bedside table.
They do so they can retrieve their firearm with relative ease to counter a home invader, especially after waking up from a sound sleep. This despite the fact that many gun gurus counsel for at least one extra preparatory step before deployment (e.g., a safe combo), so that the gun owner can regain enough consciousness not to shoot the wrong person.
The other, more obvious issue: children and burglars can also retrieve the firearm from a bedside table with relative ease. Bad things can and do happen when bedside guns go walkies, from thieves selling the weapon to murders, to criminals using the gun to murder the gun owner, to a genetically inadvisable negligent discharge.
Balancing the need for quick access to a firearm with safety is a bitch. Best solution: a quick-access bedside safe like the one (9G INPRINT) we’ll be reviewing later this week.
But if you really feel the need to have a loaded gun right handy at night—which is illegal in some states—a responsible gun owner should develop a morning routine wherein they return the firearm or firearms to a safe. Or to their person, for home or concealed carry. Every. Single. Time.
While we’re at it, there’s a tendency to treat certain guns as art objects rather than guns, as some are both. But never forget that a gun is a gun is a gun. It must be treated with safety and respect—even if it comes from one of the vilest creatures ever to have walked on planet Earth.
Oh, and if Hitler’s gun’s solid gold, that would present a reliability issue. Just sayin’ . . .