I saw an AITA (Am I the A*****) post on Reddit today:

We were visiting a good friend of mine when he moved out of state. He brought me to his bedroom closet to show me an ar15 and handgun he purchased after moving. I handled both guns after checking they were unloaded and I knew they were safe.

My girlfriend walks into the room and he hands the ar15 to her (she does not check it to affirm it is indeed clear) and the first thing she does is point it directly in my face. I slapped the barrel down and said “what the fuck are you doing?!?” In an aggressive tone. She then handed my friend his rifle back and stormed out of the room.

She didn’t like the fact I aggressively chastised her for ignoring basic gun safety. She told me “you didn’t have to talk to me like I’m stupid” and didn’t understand my point wasn’t to make her feel stupid but that action is dangerous especially since she was not in the room to witness it being checked for live ammunition, and she did not check the gun herself.

Am I wrong for aggressively chastising her? Or should I have been nicer?

https://www.reddit.com/r/AITAH/comments/1d11upe/girlfriend_pointed_an_unloaded_gun_in_my_face/

Most of the people said, no, you were right. And I agree that the reaction was appropriate for the situation.

However, I’m sorry, but either you or your buddy, and probably both, appear to be in the wrong here. You don’t say anything specifically, but since you don’t mention any instructions, I don’t think the assumption from silence is out of line. It is your responsibility to make sure she is aware of safe gun handling BEFORE handing her a gun.

Not pointing a gun at someone should be obvious, but to someone who has little to no exposure, it isn’t always. Sure, it’s common sense, but we have the 4 Rules because common sense too often isn’t common. Saying that she didn’t clear the gun makes me think she isn’t familiar with firearms, and clearing guns isn’t as much of a common sense issue. Most people who don’t know guns would have no idea how to clear an AR-15.

Maybe this is more on the buddy than you since if you didn’t know that he would show you the new guns, you wouldn’t have had a reason to instruct your girlfriend. But between the two of you, a person not familiar with safe gun handling should never have gotten a gun without at least a quick check to see if they know what they are doing.

When you are introducing someone to guns, take the time to go over the 4 Rules and when and how to clear a gun. Keep an eye on them to make sure they do it every time. Demonstrate how to clear specific models. And make sure if you are with someone familiar (the buddy in this case) that you let them know that you have someone who is learning so they can demonstrate how to clear and help you keep a closer eye.