...You loan your gun to your drinking buddy and he goes postal with it? You leave your firearm unsupervised...
The following are rules that stem from this golden rule:
1a) Always assume the weapon is loaded unless you yourself unloaded it, and check again to be sure. Better to be overcautious, than having an accidental discharge.
1b) Store weapons and ammo separately, especially if you have kids. These should be locked away in a gunsafe when not in use. If you must use a pistol at your bedside, at least use a trigger guard unless it's just you or an adult
1d) Never, EVER, leave the weapon unsupervised without rendering it safe first, under ANY circumstance.
3) ...get a gun safe...
Just wondering, are those things not covered by law in the US (or does it vary from state to state)?
I think I'm right in saying that in the UK it's illegal to let someone borrow your gun (although I'm sure it happens) but I could be wrong about that but I am fairly certain that you MUST keep you gun unloaded and dissembled in a gun safe, which must comply with certain specifications, when it's not in use. Also, if you are going to be away from home for longer than a certain amount of time (like say if you're going on holiday) the gun must be handed in to the police for the duration of that period. Plus if you apply for a gun license the police will send someone round to your house to make sure your gun safe complies with the law and also to check to see if you are an obvious nutter who shouldn't be let near a soft cushion never mind a firearm (obviously nutters do still get licenses, they aren't sending psychiatrists to your house, but maybe they should).
Are none of those things also law and part of the application process in the US? If so that seems like MASSIVE oversight that should be addressed...none of those things imo would go against the right to bear arms, at least not in any unreasonable way. I mean there's already some restrictions on that right in the US - for example it's pretty damn difficult to get hold of stuff like miniguns legally, and civilians aren't allowed to own nuclear bombs. So clearly people are ok with some level of control.