How would you feel if your child was playing at a home in which a gun was kept?

Question

Hypothetically if your child was at a friends home and you find out the parents own a gun, what would you do? would you allow your child to continue playing there? whould it even cross your mind to ask that question before you allow your child to play?

i read in my parents mag, that there was a class of 4-6 year olds, who were taught to NEVER EVER touch a gun... the teachers left an unloaded, locked, gun (NO clip) out in their view and 95% of the kids played with it...

Answer 1

i live in a state where hunting is an everyday event..lol we have taught our children the safety of guns. its never to soon or to late to start. any age can take a gun safety class. my children know not to play with guns.

Answer 2

Even if young kids are taught & told NOT to ever touch a gun, curiousity especially when peers are around is far too great a risk where my kids lives are involved. I think it is incumbent upon every parent who has guns in their home to make other parents whose kids play at their home aware of this, but you cannot depend on anyone but yourself. Fortunately my kids (9) and (6) have played with the same neighborhood and school kids since they were old enough to play and most of the parents know each other well, but that did not prevent me from asking each parent where my children play whether or not they have a gun. I live in Louisiana and hunting is very popular, and many people own handguns for protection (including myslef) Every parent that I know keeps all guns locked in a gun cabinet and the ammo lockd in a seperate cabinet. Here in Louisiana boys are taught at a very young age how to shoot and they hunt with their dads. Our family, well we are not into hunting as a sport, but my husband and I are both attorneys, I am an assistant dstrict attorney and I carry a gun at work, my kids have seen me use it at target practice and they have seen me clean it and I have told them and shown them articles of the horror stories of kids playing and one getting shot and killed. It is gruesome but it is true and I prefer they know the true and real and serious and permanent damage that can come from playing with a gun. There are no homes that my kids spend the night in or play in that my husband and I are not 100% satisfied that the hunting rifles are kept in a locked shed or off property all together, and if a handgun is in the home it is in a locked safe that iis out of reach of the kids. Still one can never ever be sure how careless another parent will be so it is important to continue to educate your child on gun safety

Answer 3

I would want the gun locked up and out of my childs reach. If it was accessible by children then no, we wouldn't allow the kids to play there. My FIL has guns for hunting, but they are in a locked case, and each one has a gun lock on them. So I am comfortable that my children will not be able to do much more than look at those. If I felt that a parent wasn't responsible about gun safety then we would just to have to invite that child to our house instead.

Answer 4

I grew up in a home that had sport guns, and one personal protection gun. I live in a house now that won't have a gun in it.

Has nothing to do with kids getting into the guns, it has to do with the 2nd amendment - so important, it was the 2nd one, not the 21st or something. As with anything else, it's on the parent to decide what is safe elsewhere, and who is responsible. Are the guns in a gun safe? Do they have them out or mounted on a wall? Is the ammo kept anywhere near the gun, or in a separate safe? Are the guns assembled? Do you live in an area where hunting or sport shooting are acceptable behavior?

Most cities and many suburbs don't have gun popularity for legit uses. I don't enjoy skeet shooting as I did when I was a younger adult, so I don't feel a need to keep a gun in the house. I don't take bank deposits through rough neighborhoods like I did when I was a younger adult, so I don't need the pistol I used to carry - although I'd affirm that carrying probably saved my life more than once by deterring people from robbing me.

If it came down to it, I'd shoot and eat something, but since I don't have to and don't enjoy it, I don't.

Did I mention my 6 month old? How about my 14 year old?

I'd feel better interviewing parents to the best of my ability to subjects I'm sensitive to before letting kids play there. Frankly, I'd be more sensitive to beer cans in the fridge, ANY hard alcohol in sight at all, and dog temperment before I'd worry about HEARING about guns in the house. If I SAW one, that's different - and irresponsible. No play.

Part of it is how you found out about the gun - if it's a protection gun, and you live in a safe area, that's worse to me than having a hunting rifle or shotgun that exists but isn't seen. If you're nervous about the whole subject, my advice is don't let them play there, but instead invite them to your place.

I should say that I don't have much faith in the average citizen's ability to be responsible for themselves, let alone a weapon. (not just firearms)

Personal responsibility is more important than the particular application - better a locked, disassembled gun than a smoker's house for me. But you get to make your call.

Answer 5

If the gun were kept out of a child's reach in a locked box, I would not worry too much about it. You can probably also figure out how much you should worry by the parents. If you are comfortable with and trust the parents, it is probably not a big deal. Just make sure your child knows about gun safety and what to do if he/she comes in contact with or sees a gun. My dad kept guns in our house my entire life (in an un-locked cabinet, no less) and I did not touch a gun until I was 19 years old! If the parents of your child's friend are responsible, everything should be fine. If you are worried about it, have a conversation and ask them the questions you want answered, for example, does your child know where your gun is? Do you allow your child to go into that room unsupervised?, Does the gun have a safety/ is it kept loaded?, etc.

Answer 6

I don't have a problem with allowing my stepchildren to play at the home of a gunowner. They already have, without knowing it. It's none of their business.

I also have no problem allowing other people's children to play in my home, where I have a gun.

But if, hypothetically, they're the sort of children that don't respect the privacy or property of others, don't think adults have the right to tell them not to do something, and believe they have the right to snoop through my house looking for guns or whatever else interests them to play with, then those children are not welcome at my house.

I'm not wild about keeping company with the sort of parents who would raise such a child, either.

So it works both ways, you see.

There's a difference in manners, I think. When I was growing up, it was an honor to be invited into someone's house; you were treated well, and in return you were expected to behave well. Now it seems that people are screening you to see if you're worthy of being graced by their presence in your home. Something today is just amiss.

By the way sarajbc, telling and teaching are two different things. My father, uncles, grandparents, cousins, and brothers were all out hunting at the ages of the children you mentioned reading about. That is what teaching is. Once you learn how to use the weapon, you know it's not a toy.

Answer 7

Okay, I'm an NRA, Pheasants Forever, White Tails Unlimited, and Ducks Unlimited supporter and I love to hunt, trap shoot, and target shoot, so I'm probably not the kind of person you are directing this at, but I'm gonna answer anyways. It is our right to bear arms (refer to the 2nd amendment). As a child, I was educated on guns and owned my own gun (a Daisy BB Gun) by the age of 5. My father taught my brother and I how to use a weapon and also the safety of a weapon. We were taught that 1.) You NEVER point a gun at a human being (not even a toy gun).
2.) You shoot a gun only at a target, or if you are hunting for FOOD.
3.) Guns are not toys
My brother and I grew up know ing how to dissassemble, assemble, clean, load, and correctly and safely discharge firearms (guns). I think that it is better to educate your children about guns and to teach them to have respect for them and for life than it is to totally shelter them from it and just tell them that "guns are bad".
As far as how would I feel if my child was playing at a home where guns were kept? Well, my children know that they are not toys (my daughter, who is two, is not allowed to point her TOY guns at people or the cat) and not to mess with them. I wouldn't feel worried at all - around here, hunting is a way of life - I don't even know anyone who does not own a gun. I personally, own 12 guns, and they are all kept locked in a gun safe. I think that as long as the person whose house your child is playing at stores their guns safely (either with locks on the guns or in a gun safe or locked room) then you don't have a lot to worry about. Most people, especially if they have kids are very careful about the storage of firearms. I love this quote by Larry the Cable Guy: "If guns kill people, then I can blame misspelled words on my pencil!"

Answer 8

Well, if I found out there was a gun, NOT LOCKED UP AND LOADED, there would be hell to pay! Yes, I think it's wise to ask. We have guns in our home. My husband collects them, but he is also very responsible with them. The gun itself has a lock on it and it is kept in a safe that is locked and kept in a storage room that is usually locked. He keeps the ammunition locked in a different location other than the safe. We take very serious precautions when it comes to having a gun or guns in the home. I grew up in a home where my dad kept his shotguns in his closet. I have three brothers and none of us every touched his guns because he sat down with us kids and taught us about them, that they were dangerous and unsafe. I think he should have kept them locked up, not laying in his closet and he agrees now, and didn't even think about that when we were kids. It's a very serious thing, we, as parents need think about and take precautions.

Answer 9

If I knew about the gun and trusted the parents I would be fine with it, as long as I knew it was kept out of sight and was unloaded and locked. My father has a gun collection that he keeps in locked cabinets. I wouldn't think twice about letting my children play over there because I know they're well-watched and I know the guns are locked. Plus, being educated about guns and knowing not to touch them and that they were for adults only and were used as a tool to help my dad protect me, then I was fine (although, my dad used to deer hunt--yes we ate the meat--, so I'm not sure how that worked--parents lie to their kids, what can I say?). Let your kids see them up close and let them know the dangers. I think that helped my brother and I not to go near them.

Answer 10

i am a mom to be, and my husband actually has 2 guns. i am not happy about it, but he keeps them locked up in a safe that has 3 locks on it.

we will store them in yet another safe on a ledge in our bedroom that you cannot get to unless you are on a ladder. of course unloaded with the clips in a seperate locked box.


would i let my child play at a home with guns? no!!!! just because we are safe and keep things unloaded and locked, doesnt mean other people are that safe.

with how crazy the world has gotten, yes i would ask a parent if they had a gun

Answer 11

So long as the gun was unloaded and kept in a LOCKED gun case that no one but the parents or an older, responsible child knew where the key was kept, I would be okay with it. My in-laws have guns for hunting. They are all unloaded and locked up and the key is kept out of reach of children.

My sister-in-law has a loaded gun not in a gun case, my son is not permitted to go to her house. Nor will he so long as the gun is kept out in the open like that.

My husband and I do not own guns, nor will we. But I have no problem with them so long as they are kept safely.