Laugh a little

I posted on Dick Cheney's hunting mishap yesterday with a sense of humor. The entire ordeal is more or less amusing since no one was seriously hurt and the news cycle, frankly, could use a decent distraction from the heavy-toned hearings atop Capitol Hill.

Apparently, though, not everyone is taking this with a complete sense of humor. It would seem that James and Sarah Brady put out a statement on the incident today and while they each clearly sought to convey a certain tone of humor via hyperbole, it also appears the anti-gun advocates are trying to make political something that truthfully is best contained in the realms of late night television.

Ms. Brady commented:

I've thought Cheney was scary for a long time... Now I know I was right to be nervous.

And Mr. Brady weighed in:

Now I understand why Dick Cheney keeps asking me to go hunting with him... I had a friend once who accidentally shot pellets into his dog - and I thought he was an idiot.

Whoa.

Is Mr. Brady really accusing the Vice President of wanting to kill him? And what exactly does Ms. Brady mean by being “nervous.” A crooked hunting shot is reason to doubt the competency of the second highest office in America?

Isn't this whole ordeal proof that guns can be safely handled? A couple weapons were legally used by their rightful holders, something went wrong and everyone is still relatively okay. This seems to be the pinnacle of responsibility – hunting in a safe environment where, even if the worst that can go wrong does, someone gets a little medical treatment and matters go on.

Besides, if memory serves, John Kerry once tried to score political points by taking the press on a hunting excursion.

Let's not call the Vice President an “idiot.” His predecessor claimed to have invented the Internet and the guy before that wasn't able to spell “potato.” I may joke, but it isn't as if we have another Aaron Burr on our hands.