More support for the Second Amendment

It seems that a Missouri man decided that a 22-caliber handgun might make a good drill. Unfortunately, the bullet went through his wife, as well as through the wall:

Patsy Long, 34, of Deepwater, died after being shot in the chest with a .22-caliber handgun on Saturday. Her husband, Ronald Long, fired the shot from the inside of their home after several unsuccessful efforts to punch a hole through the exterior wall using other means.

Henry County sheriff’s deputies said the woman was hit by the second of two shots fired by her husband.

Long was given CPR by neighbors and family until medics arrived, police said. She was transported by air ambulance, but was pronounced dead at the hospital just after 6 p.m.

“He was under the impression that everybody was inside the residence, that he knew where everybody was at,” said sheriff’s department spokesman Maj. Robert Hills.

The prosecutor isn’t sure whether he wants to charge Mr Long with a crime. I’m uncertain too; he did something amazingly stupid, but stupidity isn’t — for better or worse — a crime. And Mrs Long’s death was an accident (assuming, of course, that investigation doesn’t uncover something nefarious, such as that Mr Long wanted to kill his wife and used this story to cover it up).

It’s an example of my frequent stand: no one will be well served by putting Mr Long in prison.

But whichever way they go, here’s what absolutely has to happen: we have to make sure that Mr Long never, ever gets his hands on a gun again. Ever.

Neighbor Mark Lassince said he believed it was a tragic accident. “Bad things happen to good people,” Lassince said.

Yes, well, maybe. But bad things are more likely to happen to stupid people.

[Hat tip to BoingBoing.]