Reckless Gun Usage: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

There are [[Gun Safety|some basic rules for safely using guns]]. Unfortunately, not everyone knows what they are since many people are not used to firearms. This can result in things that are [[I Just Shot Marvin in the Face|deadly serious]] or [[Juggling Loaded Guns|hilarious]] depending on the work in question.

When somebody '''unfamiliar''' with firearms does something reckless with guns that endanger others, what's occurred is Reckless Gun Usage. Whether it's some schmuck in the middle of a [[Zombie Apocalypse]] or a bank robber, screwing up is still dangerous. Now if they should have known gun safety, that's more like they [[Artistic License Gun Safety|failed their gun safety course]].

 

 

== Advertising ==

* In this [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oi13LczGlsE bizarre advertisement for Amber Alert], four stereotypical soccer moms are firing rifles and machine guns at the camera in super-slow-motion. It features them [[Dramatic Gun Cock|re-cocking their guns when they're already ready to fire]], shooting from the hip, and firing with their eyes closed. But even these acts pale in comparison to {{spoiler|one woman going [[Guns Akimbo]] with ''AK-47s'' firing into the air - and '''hitting herself in the head multiple times with shell casings'''.}}

** And a woman hip-firing a ''belt-fed light machine gun''. Which is somehow semi-automatic.

 

 

 

 

* ''[[Harry Potter and the Nightmares of Futures Past]]'': Arthur Weasley has a gun in his office in the Ministry of Magic, which he shows to Harry and starts to pull the trigger with the muzzle close to his head, but the gun doesn't shoot because Arthur didn't go all the way. Harry nearly has a heart attack when this happens. He proceeds to steal the gun so that Arthur doesn't do this again. (And the gun is charmed to conjure bullets as it goes, so it might be useful in the future!)

 

 

== Film ==

* ''[[Planet Terror]]'', half of the ''[[Grindhouse]]'' double-feature, Dr. Dakota Block gives a gun to her child, when she leaves him alone in a car. {{spoiler|He shoots himself within a few seconds of her leaving the car.}}

* ''[[The Dark Knight]]'': [[The Joker]] ignores all gun-handling rules, but being ''the Joker'', he probably doesn't care at all if he unintentionally shoots someone. Or himself, for that matter. Hell, he'd probably think it was ''hilarious''. In fact, there is a scene where he stumbles and unintentionally sprays a burst of S&W M76 fire in a random direction.

** In a Series 14 outtake, May defended himself, claiming it was the only way to see whether the barrel is unblocked.

*** Important Safety Tip, you never do that. Open the action and check from the breech end; light coming through the barrel without shadows shows an unblocked barrel. This lets you also remove any shell from the chamber, in case the gun is loaded - ''[[Gun Safety|and it is.]]''

* ''[[Touched By an Angel]]'', someone breaking just about all the rules—carelessly waving a loaded [[WW 2]]-era pistol around, pointing it straight at a friend, and then removing the magazine without clearing the chamber. After all that, how unlucky is it for said gun to [[What a Senseless Waste of Human Life|get knocked off a desk, unintentionally fire, and shoot someone right in the heart]]?

* ''[[Perry Mason]]'', If there was a gun involved in the murder-of-the-week, odds are good that [[Perry Mason]] will recklessly wave that gun around. One episode was particularly egregious: The district attorney, Hamilton Berger, fondles the murder weapon (a revolver marked as exhibit whatever) during the trial and rests it casually on the witness box, his finger on the trigger, the barrel aimed directly at the weapons expert's head. After a few questions, he turns it toward the jury, gesturing dramatically. Then, Mason does exactly the same thing when cross-examining.

** In his (albeit weak) defense, he'd just removed a coat strapped with explosives off of John Watson after the pair were threatened with being blowing up and/or being shoot by multiply snipers if Sherlock didn't back off. Even Sherlock was a bit freaked out once the danger had passed... {{spoiler|until of course Moriarty returned because he can't make his mind about when to kill the heroes.}}

*** He has absolutely no excuse in the next season's finale, when he presses a loaded gun to his best friend's head ([[It Makes Sense in Context]]) ''with his finger on the trigger'', and later just drops it on the cobblestone street while running away.

* In the first episode of ''[[Wild Boys]]'', Jack wakes up to find Mary's young son Tom pointing Jack's own gun at his head. Jack is understandably angry.

* This caused the death of one of ''[[MacGyver]]'''s childhood friends, as shown during a flashback in "Blood Brothers".

 

== Webcomics ==

* ''[[Questionable Content]]'', Marten [[Juggling Loaded Guns|doesn't observe]] ''taser'' safety and [http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=529 unintentionally electrocutes himself]. Of course, he ''was'' drunk.

* ''[[Ctrl+Alt+Del]]'', [http://www.cad-comic.com/cad/20100908 Ethan demonstrates] why [[Gun Safety]] rules exist.

* ''[[Lackadaisy]]'': [http://www.lackadaisycats.com/exhibit.php?exhibitid=19 In a background extra strip], Rocky [[I Just Shot Marvin in the Face|shoots himself in the ear]] when waving around his pistol, giving him the hole in the ear seen in the regular strip.

* ''[[Schlock Mercenary]]'' had a [[Lampshaded]] case: [http://www.schlockmercenary.com/2007-11-04 if you know through the full-body armor a small subsonic slug can only attract attention, using them for just this purpose becomes tempting].

 

== Web Original ==