It’s really not that hard. Always. Loaded. Even when you know it isn’t. It is.

As a result, there is no such thing as an “accidental shooting”. There’s negligence, or there’s safe handling. No gray areas. Period.

JUPITER — A man who told police he couldn’t believe his pistol fired, killing an 18-year-old woman on Feb. 29, actually had an arsenal of guns scattered throughout his apartment.

When police arrived, 26-year-old Thomas Sutton held a Glock 27 in his hand as Brittany Armstrong lay in his living room, dying from a gunshot wound to her head. Just feet away Sutton had a Glock 23 with a tactical light resting on his sofa and a Glock 22 on the kitchen counter - both loaded, according to court records released Monday.

I don’t care as much about the arsenal. Yeah, this guy seems to have some issues (sawed-off shotgun, impersonating an officer), but that doesn’t mean he’s a cold-blooded killer. He’s just stupid:

“I thought it was unloaded. Apparently I was wrong,” he told police before hanging his head and sobbing. “I hope she is OK.”

IT IS ALWAYS LOADED. I don’t even like to say, “Treat every firearm as if it is loaded.” That leaves too much up to interpretation.

I propose a re-write of that rule. Instead of “Treat every firearm as if it is loaded,” how about …

“IT’S FUCKING LOADED.”

Cup of coffee in hand, starting your day at work, IT’S FUCKING LOADED.

25 years of experience, cleaning the damned thing in your garage? IT’S FUCKING LOADED.

Brand new gun straight out of the box? IT’S FUCKING LOADED.

I don’t even like calling it a rule. It’s a fact. Not a rule, not a guideline, not a suggestion. A fact.

Sure, it’s hard for some people to wrap their heads around, but I think of it this way, even when I know, and I’ve triple-checked the chamber to be sure it’s empty, it’s STILL FUCKING LOADED.

GRR!