Department of Homeland Security Secretary and former South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem broke a fundamental rule of gun safety this week when she appeared to let a rifle’s muzzle tilt toward an agent’s face during a staged photo, Wyoming firearms experts told Cowboy State Daily.
It's called “muzzle sweep” — or carelessly letting the muzzle of a firearm point toward others. It breaks one of the cardinal rules of firearms safety: Always keep your gun pointed in a safe direction.
Or, put another way: Never point a gun at anything that you don’t intend to destroy.
“A big part of my own curriculum is muzzle awareness,” said Frank Groth, a retired peace officer and firearms trainer living in Campbell County.
“And I’m like, ‘Where’s your muzzle, Kristi?” he said in reaction to images from a publicity event Tuesday in Arizona in which Noem posed with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.
Retired U.S. Marine and law enforcement officer Vince Vanata of Cody agreed that Noem appeared to be out of line when it comes to basic gun safety.
“Somebody needs to have a talk with her about safety, safety measures, the rules of handling a firearm and, No. 1, treat every firearm as if it was loaded,” said Vanata, a National Rifle Association-certified rifle and pistol instructor and range safety officer.
Noem Gets Flamed For Firearms Faux Pau
News outlets and the social media lit up slamming Noem after images emerged from the publicity event in Arizona.
They show Noem standing between two ICE agents, with all three of them holding weapons.
The muzzle of Noem’s weapon appears to tilt toward the head and face of the man standing to her left. Her finger is not on the trigger.
That set people off, blasting her for breaking a basic rule of gun safety, when she has openly claimed to be a gun owner and supporter of Second Amendment rights.
Was That Weapon Ready To Rock?
Vanata said that the gun that Noem is holding appears to be an M4 carbine, a short-barreled, selective-fire weapon used by the military and law enforcement agencies.
The carbine has what appears to be a 40-round magazine inserted into its magazine well.
There’s know way of telling whether the magazine had any ammunition in it, and/or if there was a round in the fire chamber, Vanata said.
But under the basic rule of treating every firearm as if it’s loaded, that doesn’t matter, he said.
If there had been an unintentional discharge of the M4, the consequences could have been catastrophic, even if it wasn’t pointed directly at the man’s head, he said.
Muzzle blast from the weapon could have injured or “even blinded” the agent, Vanata said.
Groth said it’s not likely that Noem would have been handed a loaded and charged, or “hot,” weapon for a publicity shot. But he also agreed that safety protocol must always be followed.
“I can’t imagine that an ICE guy handed her a hot weapon. And if he did, he needs a talking to,” Groth said.
Firearms, Photo Ops Don’t Mix
Groth said what happened with Noem is an example of why firearms shouldn’t be used as props.
“This is kind of what can happen, well-meaning or otherwise, when people start using firearms as props for photo ops,” he said.
He recalled a similar incident in the 1990s, when the late U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein posed with an AK-47 variant. An “assault weapons ban” was a hot topic at the time.
“There were photos of her holding the AK, with a magazine in, pointed toward the audience, with her finger on the trigger,” Groth said.
“She took a lot of heat for that over the years, and rightfully so,” he added.
Feinstein should have known better, because she held a permit to carry a concealed firearm, Groth said.
Which Direction Is Safest?
Noem’s embarrassing incident raises the question — what’s the best direction to point long guns while in a group?
Groth said that for the most part, he favors holding guns with the muzzles pointed downward, slightly out from the holder’s feet.
That way, they’re far less likely to muzzle sweep others or their own feet, he said.
When guns are fired, either intentionally or unintentionally, bullets “all got to hit something. I would much prefer they hit the ground,” Groth said.
Vanata said the safest direction for muzzles to go can depend on the situation.
Ponting muzzles down toward hard surfaces, such as concrete, might not be the safest because of the risk of ricochets, he said.
However, if a team is in a helicopter, nobody should point their weapons upward, he said.
“What’s above you in a helicopter? The engine, transmission and rotor blades,” he said.
The bottom line is, it’s each person’s responsibility to make sure their firearm’s muzzle never points toward somebody else, he said.
Groth said one form of “muzzle up” carrying he favors is called “administrative carry.”
Meaning, shooters carry their long guns with the muzzle pointed straight up, not tilted toward anybody else, with the action open, and the thumb of their support hand inserted into the ejection port.
“That way, it’s clear that the firearm doesn’t have a round in the chamber,” he said.
At Least Her Finger Was Off The Trigger
Muzzle control is the first and last line of defense when it comes to firearms safety, Groth said. Regardless of whatever else might go wrong, if a gun is kept pointed in a safe direction, the risk of injury or death in case of an unintentional firing is diminished.
Vanata said that, according to the images of Noem posing with the agents, she did at least one thing right.
“I will give her this, her finger is off the trigger,” he said.
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
