...two Secret Service agents wounded by the accidental discharge of a firearm.

WASHINGTON (CNN)—Two Secret Service agents were wounded Tuesday in what was called an “accidental discharge of a firearm” near the White House, said Secret Service spokeswoman Kim Bruce.

One uniformed Secret Service officer was shot in the leg, and a second suffered shrapnel wounds to the face, Bruce said. They were taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

The incident took place shortly after 2 p.m. at the southwest gate security post and is under investigation.

The Secret Service are some of the most highly trained gunmen this country has, yet even they have accidents.

How does that relate to gun control?  It means that no matter how much you try to limit gun ownership to professionals only (law enforcement, etc.) accidents still happen.  People still make mistakes.  Guns still go off when they aren’t meant to.  People still get angry and try to hurt one another.

What we should be promoting is a society where private gun ownership isn’t something that is feared because of accidents like the one above but rather embraced despite those accidents.  Americans don’t need to be protected from themselves, they need to be empowered to protect themselves from other people.  That’s the sort of society we should want to live in, not one where the public is entirely reliant upon the government for its protection.