In order to prove that a gun wasn’t loaded, an Alaskan man put a firearm to his head and pulled the trigger. The only problem is that the gun was loaded, and the man who was inebriated, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

According to Fairbanks police, alcohol was a factor in what was deemed to be an ‘accidental’ shooting that took the life of Ft. Wainwright based soldier over the weekend, according to Alaska Public Media.

Fairbanks Police Detective Scott Adams said that prior to the fatal shooting on Sunday, 25-year-old Stryker Brigade Sergeant Nathan Michael Higginbotham had been consuming alcohol.

“Basically it looks like the gentleman had been drinking, at the same time was handling a firearm. The two mixed together are never a good thing.” he said.

According to friends on of the deceased, they saw Higgenbotham remove a clip from a pistol, then put it to his head and pull the trigger in order to demonstrate that it was not loaded.

The chamber wasn’t cleared.

A bullet which remained in the chamber fired, killing Higgenbotham.

Detective Adams added that soldiers are well versed in firearms safety, and attributes the incident strictly to alcohol impairment.

Reverb Press reports:

In 2011, he was sent to Iraq in support of Operation New Dawn. If all gun owners received the same level of firearm training as this soldier, there would be far fewer accidental shootings. Unfortunately, this is the type of thing that happens far too often when people mix alcohol with guns. A similar situation occurred in November when Shawn Griffin, another Iraqi War veteran, decided to play with a gun while his 15-year-old cousin was around.

In that incident, there was some alcohol involved, too. A gun was pulled out and he did not realize there was a bullet in the chamber and during the horse play with the weapon, a shot was fired and struck his young, 15-yr-old cousin in the face.

Obviously, alcohol and guns don’t mix. That’s a no-brainer but gun enthusiasts consistently bring up that an individual could die in a swimming pool or in a car, therefore, none of this really matters.

A gun range in Florida was recently given the green light to serve alcohol and food.

At first, the city commissioners were wary of this idea, but the business owner reassured them he would implement strict safety rules in order to keep alcohol and guns separate.

How about teaching gun owners to not mix alcohol and guns instead? Gun safety should be respected on every level. How about teaching gun owners that it isn’t a game instead of serving alcohol and food under the pretense that it’s simply entertainment and not a lethal gun in your hand.

With rights comes responsibility. That sign is in the gun shop where I purchased my firearm. America has become desensitized to gun violence and we can thank the National Rifle Association for that and our elected officials the gun lobbyists own.

There’s no telling what Higgenbotham could have offered our society in the future. We’ll never know because he’s dead.

Image: Flickr.