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I'm not at all comfortable with households that have children also having guns. I remember when I was about eight or nine, my late grandfather had a gun and my slightly older male cousins were in awe. I once asked my grandmother if it was true that my grandfather had a gun and she very casually said he had three. We didn't know where the guys were kept, but knew they were in the house. So every time we stayed with our grandparents, my cousins who were maybe 11 or 12 would scavenge through the house looking for these guns. They never found them (I don't think) but still in retrospect, what if they had? What's your opinion of guns in the same house as kids? Is this something that should be considered acceptable, even if you are in favor of right to bear arms?
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RedBedroom
JM130ELM
el Rio
Supernova
Forgiveness Man
GrayWolf
AtownPeep
11 posters
Guns in the same house as children.
AtownPeep- …is a Power Member.
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GrayWolf- …is Authorized.
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Having kids is one of the main reasons a lot of people get a gun to start with, i think. It's one thing for an intruder to break in when it's just you there, but for it to happen with their being niños in the house is another.
Forgiveness Man- …is a Chamber Royal.
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Why would it be a problem? If you lock it up properly, they can't get to it. There are a lot of "what if they find this?" scenarios that you can play with kids. Should we ban knives in the same house as kids? I mean yeah, knives have a non-lethal purpose but a child can severely hurt themselves if they find a knife. Knives are also MUCH less secured typically than the average gun. So why are knives and guns any different in terms of their appropriateness to have in the same house as a child?
Supernova- The Book Chamber
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AtownPeep wrote: They never found them (I don't think) but still in retrospect, what if they had?
What IF they had? People generally don't leave LOADED guns lying around, and an unloaded gun never killed anybody so far as I know.
My brother and I were raised in a house with several guns, none of which we saw as kids, and when we did find out, we sure as hell were not tempted to pick them up and see if they worked. We had been taught from the get-go that guns were dangerous and could kill people, we weren't stupid.
el Rio- …is a Newbie.
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I grew up in the country, hunting and fishing weren't just for fun, they were activities that put food on the table. From very early on I was taught to respect guns. As a kid hunting I learned to kill with a gun. Doesn't take much of a leap from seeing a dead rabbit to understanding that same weapon would kill you or some other human. I have several guns in the house though I haven't hunted for years. There are coyotes, Rattlesnakes Copperheads and Cottonmouths all around. My sons cat just got killed by a copperhead. While I value "good snakes" that keep mice and vermin in check I tend to dispatch poisonious snakes near the house. I have grandkids and pets that I value more than certain snakes.
Its not a macho thing or somekind of wingnut lunacy, rather a gun is a tool with a proper use. Also god spare the fool human that ever tries to mess with my family, same as a bad snake.
Its not a macho thing or somekind of wingnut lunacy, rather a gun is a tool with a proper use. Also god spare the fool human that ever tries to mess with my family, same as a bad snake.
Supernova- The Book Chamber
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Exactly. And think about it, Annie Oakley was 9 years old and already hunting by herself when she killed a great big bear on her own. She never shot anybody. It's not that children are too young or their minds are not developed enough that they can't be trusted with guns, can't learn how to use them responsibly, it's that adults try to take the easy way out by never exposing them to the culture and teaching them about the dangers and rules and such. It's the adults who have a problem if they intend to go through life thinking all kids around guns will shoot somebody and just use the 'BAD! DON'T TOUCH!' mentality when raising them.
JM130ELM- …is Necessary.
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I don't mind a household with kids also having a gun (or guns), so long as it's locked and not advertise it to them. A ten year old doesn't need to be aware that there is a firearm in the house any more than he needs to know that his parents have sex toys.
Last edited by JM130ELM on Wed Sep 29, 2010 2:54 pm; edited 1 time in total
RedBedroom- …is a Chamber DEITY.
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If it is properly stored, I think it is fine.
Personally, I would never do it. I don't like guns. But I do know that many use them for hunting so it would be silly for that demographic to not be able to house their own guns.
Personally, I would never do it. I don't like guns. But I do know that many use them for hunting so it would be silly for that demographic to not be able to house their own guns.
RobbieFTW- …is Being Fitted For a Crown.
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I'm okay with it if it's locked up and unloaded. The gun and the bullets should be kept in 2 separate locations.
Nystyle709- ...is a 20G Chamber DIETY.
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My dad said that he always had a gun in the house when I was growing up. Never found it because I never knew he HAD one. Had I did, I'm pretty sure I would've been able to find it if I was curious enough. But luckily for me, I never liked guns so I never would've been curious enough. That being said, I agree......I don't feel comfortable with having a gun in the house with children. Yeah, it's just a what if scenario if something happens with them but I'd rather be safe than sorry. You're fooling yourself if you think your kid(s) wouldn't be able to find or know where you keep your gun if they knew you had one. You can only hope they wouldn't be interested in touching it or wanting to play with it.
el Rio- …is a Newbie.
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I think there's a lot of cultural and maybe generational differences in the attitudes about guns in the house. I hate the NRA mentality and I don't own a handgun because I have no use for one. Guns were always around when I grew up as were power tools, tractors, chain saws and other potentially dangerous things like alcohol and cigarettes. I can easily see where a lot of people are coming from in their concerns about having guns around. Maybe if I lived in an urban/suburban area I would feel the same.
This is a kind of "no right or wrong" situation as I see it. More an issue of personal background. That said I would sure as hell either lock up all the guns or get them gone if I had a family member who was suicidal or unstable. Just my thoughts, opinions will differ.
This is a kind of "no right or wrong" situation as I see it. More an issue of personal background. That said I would sure as hell either lock up all the guns or get them gone if I had a family member who was suicidal or unstable. Just my thoughts, opinions will differ.
Supernova- The Book Chamber
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Nystyle709 wrote:My dad said that he always had a gun in the house when I was growing up. Never found it because I never knew he HAD one. Had I did, I'm pretty sure I would've been able to find it if I was curious enough. But luckily for me, I never liked guns so I never would've been curious enough. That being said, I agree......I don't feel comfortable with having a gun in the house with children. Yeah, it's just a what if scenario if something happens with them but I'd rather be safe than sorry. You're fooling yourself if you think your kid(s) wouldn't be able to find or know where you keep your gun if they knew you had one. You can only hope they wouldn't be interested in touching it or wanting to play with it.
Well that is why early on you teach kids that guns are dangerous and ARE capable of killing people. We always knew that and we were never tempted as kids to get our hands on any real ones to see what they were like. I remember we even used to comment when we were kids and heard on the news about kids accidentally shooting each other how stupid they were for doing it because they had to know it was dangerous. But you know if you have a parent who doesn't talk to you about it or just has this whole 'guns are evil, stay away' mentality, then it becomes a forbidden fruit and if you don't know WHAT to do with them, how to use them properly and safely, that's just asking for trouble.
AtownPeep- …is a Power Member.
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I think this Simpson's episode pretty much nails it for me.
Nystyle709- ...is a 20G Chamber DIETY.
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Supernova wrote:
Well that is why early on you teach kids that guns are dangerous and ARE capable of killing people. We always knew that and we were never tempted as kids to get our hands on any real ones to see what they were like. I remember we even used to comment when we were kids and heard on the news about kids accidentally shooting each other how stupid they were for doing it because they had to know it was dangerous. But you know if you have a parent who doesn't talk to you about it or just has this whole 'guns are evil, stay away' mentality, then it becomes a forbidden fruit and if you don't know WHAT to do with them, how to use them properly and safely, that's just asking for trouble.
That's great, but when has telling your kids something is bad or dangerous satisfied their curiosity? Kids are told that guns are dangerous all the time. Telling them that it's dangerous doesn't mean they're going to stay away from it. Best thing is to not have it around in the first place. And if you are, make it your perogative to never let them KNOW you have it.
Chris- Chamber Admin.
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Agree with Robbie, so long as the gun and the bullets are kept in two separate (and secure locations), I wouldn't argue against a house keeping a gun for protection. However, I don't think kids should be aware that there is a gun in the house.
TPP- …is a Power Member.
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I grew up in a law enforcement family and guns were always around, in plain sight. I was NEVER tempted to play with them or even touch them, although my Dad did teach me to shoot starting at around age 7.
I'm not comfortable with guns in my house though, so our guns are all locked away. I'm always torn between feeling vulnerable to an intruder and keeping my kids safe from a gun accident...But with toddlers who have no common sense and amazing skills at defeating my safety measures, I err on the side of keeping them locked away, outside of the house.
I'm not comfortable with guns in my house though, so our guns are all locked away. I'm always torn between feeling vulnerable to an intruder and keeping my kids safe from a gun accident...But with toddlers who have no common sense and amazing skills at defeating my safety measures, I err on the side of keeping them locked away, outside of the house.
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