You should sign up for a firearm education class or training class. It'll help you with some of your questions as well as some of the things you assume.
Anything other than safety is negligence. If you assume that the firearm is loaded that means each and every time you pick it up, even if it's in your possession and you set it down then immediately pick it back up, you make sure to check that via divine intervention, Jesus or magic that bullets didn't magically appear in the gun and regardless of its current status, loaded or unloaded you treat it as if it is fully loaded. Anything else, any assumption, confidence or security is negligence.
Anyone who knows anything about guns will say you should ALWAYS treat it like it's loaded such as don't point it towards yourself or others and practicing good trigger discipline by keeping your finger off the trigger unless you plan to use it.
The purpose of this advice is given regardless if it's actually loaded or not. The purpose of this thinking is one, to develop a habit of treating a gun for what it is which is an instrument that can take a life easily and develop good habits outside of when you actually use it. Two, also like you said mistakes can happen so this is more of a reason why you should always treat it as loaded because you can think it's empty when it's actually not and this shyt can happen.
I hope you realize you're actually making the case yourself that if anything this is more evidence she be charged with some form of criminal negligence because this accident happened in the first place by not practicing basic safety of treating a gun as being always loaded.
I understand the purpose of them saying that,and I don't mind it as a rule. Its said to treat a gun that way because most people don't truly cross their t's or dot their i's,as we can see in this situation. Before being cool letting her play with his gun he should have made SURE it was empty. Being 100% sure is the only way because things happen as a gun owner,and you have to account for people who don't know about guns or about that rule,or children for god sake. Should children or ignorant people be expected to know or follow such a rule?.FOr me its the responsiblity of the gun owner to be positive their guns are empty,be positive their guns are locked away securely. You guys are proving my point by saying anything CAN happen. Whats more likely than jesus or magic putting a bullet in your gun,is one day you let your guard down and are careless and you are somebody dies because of it. Which is exactly why YOU as the gun owner need to KNOW your gun is empty like you THINK it is. We are saying the same thing,you are just putting more responsibility on people who don't know about guns and didn't bring a gun into the situation around people who don't know shyt about guns and may take your word for it when you say its empty.
Are we saying Bruce Lee son who was in The Crow is at fault because he didn't make sure the gun he was using on set wasn't blanks like he was told
