There used to be Ten Commandments of Gun Safety.
Can anybody recite them all?
Four is ample.
Code Name: JET STREAM
White, yellow, orange, red.
Dedicated pair, hammer, reverse hammer, split hammer.
He had a knack for communication. Perhaps he eschewed “black“ and the “non-dedicated” pair out of an aversion to the number five?
After 13 hours of driving back from AZ ... naw, never mind.
That was tongue in cheek, but one might further observe that he never gave us Condition Five, instead going the other way to allow for Condition Zero, to the delight of such as the late Joe Sledge.
Only a bit tongue in cheek- in 2023, before WHITE (Unaware and unprepared) there should now be a new color/condition -PIXELATED (actively distracted and engaged in the handheld device you are holding and looking at, often in your primary hand.)
You heard it here first...
I am not your attorney. I am not giving legal advice. Any and all opinions expressed are personal and my own and are not those of any employer-past, present or future.
This is a great example of how modern safety science has evolved from what some have termed the Manhattan Phone Book approach to rulemaking where there is a rule or procedure for every conceivable situation to one in which well formulated general principles can be applied universally. Cooper's work is cited even outside of the firearms context as a prime example of a multi-layered safety system. Human factors research in the ensuing years has shown the benefits of orgainzing guidelines in ways that mimic thought processes that lead to successful problem solving. In that light, Cooper's rules 3 & 4 should be transposed; you simply can't be ready to shoot until you are sure of your target and its surroundings. In his own way, Hoot was right; that trigger finger truly is the last line of defense.