A Texas man accidentally shot a child while officiating a wedding in Lancaster County on Saturday, the sheriff’s office says.

Chief Deputy Ben Houchin said deputies were sent to a wedding at Hillside Events near Denton on a report of a gunshot wound.

Deputies learned that 62-year-old Michael Gardner, the wedding’s officiant, fired a gun to get everyone’s attention.

“He was going to fire in the air, and as he did that, it slipped and went off,” Houchin said.

The gun was loaded with a blank that Gardner made with gunpowder and glue.

2 points

There’s something very wrong with this story. Yes, a Texas pastor shot a child during a wedding, but why was it being held on a Saturday? Are we just going to accept weddings to be held on any day, wily nilly, instead of on a proper Sunday?

I propose that Texas mandate proper wedding laws, including mandatory background checks and waiting periods, so that these children shot at weddings will only be shot on Sunday, the way god intended.

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1 point

Wtf goes to a wedding on a Sunday? How are you supposed to party late into the night if you have to work the next day?

That said, I agree that we should regulate how and when Texans are allowed to shoot their children.

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8 points

This country is overloaded with people that are just bat shit crazy. 

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26 points

I go to a wedding and I take with me…

A gun!

Only in America!

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17 points

Aren’t there countries where multiple people fire AK47s in the air after a wedding?

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1 point

Yes and that makes it better somehow?

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1 point
*

Not better, no. Makes your statement of “only in america” feel more emotional than factual.

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12 points
*

Right, there are. None of those countries merit emulation. On the contrary, they’re blueprints for what not to do, so…

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8 points

Yeah, and those folks aren’t firing blanks.

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26 points

It is no accident if a person carries a gun with no real reason to do so.

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1 point

Ok, wait, we know his reason. He wanted to use it as a cool looking noise maker.

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4 points

In his defense he was at a wedding. You never know what kind of threatening wild animal will show up.

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5 points

Yes, but it was loaded with self made blanks. He probably messed up the blanks and it shot some shrapnel.

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6 points

Even a properly made blank can cause serious injury.

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7 points

Even then this is not acceptable. And wasn’t there the rule that you never point a firearm at people you don’t intend to shoot, even when the weapon is not loaded?

Why do Americans blatantly ignore the reasons that repeatedly (daily!) show that not every yokel should have access to firearms in the first place?

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21 points

Deputies learned that 62-year-old Michael Gardner, the wedding’s officiant, fired a gun to get everyone’s attention.

When did he think it was a good idea? When?

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5 points

Because second amendment.

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5 points

Why hasn’t anyone argued that guns like this are not arms, but decorations and props which don’t deserve amendment protection?

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4 points

Because the second amendment is the excuse not the reason.

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