A Personal Lack Of Gun Control

(I am a female working at a firearms retailer that also offers gunsmith services. A customer comes in and tosses a handgun onto the counter.)

Customer: “What can you quote me on a barrel extension for this?”

(I look down at the handgun and note several things.)

Me: “Well, I can certainly give you a price quote, but first, sir, if you want us to work on this, I must ask that you unload the gun.”

Customer: “What? Why?”

Me: “Well… besides the obvious safety issues in handling loaded firearms, we don’t want to risk your ammo getting lost when we have to disassemble the gun.”

Customer: “Fine.” *he ejects the magazine and puts the gun back down on the counter* “Happy?”

Me: “No, sir. I need you to check there isn’t a round in the chamber, too.”

Customer: “Look, woman, see this?” *waves the magazine at me* “Without this you’ve got nothing to worry about, okay?”

Me: “That’s… not always the case. Yes, some handgun models will not fire without the magazine but most are perfectly capable of firing so long as there’s a round in the chamber.”

Customer: “Look, is there a guy who can help me? Someone who knows how man things work?”

Me: “As you wish.”

(I call my manager and explain everything.)

Manager: “So, sir, let me see if I’ve got this straight. You don’t believe my employee, who is both licensed and has been handling firearms for the past four years she’s worked here, and are willing to endanger both our lives by handing us a loaded gun?”

Customer: “What’s the problem here? I’ve got the mag in my hands. The gun is safe!”

(My manager picks up the handgun and aims it out the window at a target range we have out back, making sure he’s not about to hit anything besides the concrete wall behind the store. He pulls the trigger and of course the gun fires as it’s supposed to, despite having no magazine.)

Manager: “May I ask you to please explain how that happened then? Since, by your own admission, you should know more about guns due to being a man?”

(The customer grabbed his now completely empty gun and stormed out of the store. The kicker? The gun was of a relatively new model that had a warning to check the chamber stamped on its side. Just goes to show why gun safety is so important!)