Actor Jon-Erik Hexum killed himself with a gun that was verifiably loaded with blanks. He put it to his head and pulled the trigger. A little elementary physics would suffice to deduce what happened from that point forward.

It's quite possible that the gun that killed Velasco was loaded with blanks. That doesn't matter. This is still a matter of homicidal negligence, and the perpetrator is criminally culpable.

When I entered law school, I knew nothing about guns. Nothing. I was amazed at those cases where someone was liable because they cleaned a gun that was loaded. I never knew you couldn't clean a loaded gun. Act surprised, if you will, but I didn't even know you cleaned a gun. Or that it would involve more than turning on the faucet and running the gun under it.

Now I was pretty immune from liability because I also never touched a gun. Still to this day, I have never seen one except behind glass in a museum or on TV.

So if I was acting and someone gave me a gun, I'm not sure I would check it rather than take their word for it. I'm not sure I'd know how to. Yeah bullets go in the barrel. How do I open the barrel?

I know, I know, it's people like me that make the left want to ban all guns.

Justene,

Actually, you have a leg up on most novices, because you realize your limitations. People that know nothing about guns, and thus steer clear of them are actually much safer than people that know just enough about guns to be dangerous.

Still, there really are only a few basic rules you need to follow:
- Treat every gun as if it were loaded. (including starter pistols, commemorative and decorative guns).
- Always point it in a safe direction. (as in, not at people)
- Loaded or not, keep your finger off the trigger. (Keeps "accidents" from happening, and is a good habit to get into.)