Do you have a gun in your home?

[Anonymous]

I have a german shepherd, and probably much better chance she bites the kid than I ever shoot my wife.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, we have 5 and a gun safe, and trigger locks. DH travels a lot, we shoot regularly. I am confident I can handle things on my own if need be.

Why 5?

Just kind of happened. 1- inherited, DH and I each have our own handgun (if you are going to use one for sport or safety, it is important to have one that fit's your hand and that you are comfortable with firing), 1 shot gun and 1 is a rifile.

DH grew up hunting, but hasn't went hunting in the 12 years that I've been with him. We do shoot for sport and practice. It is a great stress reliever. Even if you aren't comfortable keeping one in your house, you can usually go to a range and rent one.

No, I'm not a redneck or a right-wing NRA wacko. If you knew me through my kids, job or are my neighbor, I think you'd be very surprised.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a german shepherd, and probably much better chance she bites the kid than I ever shoot my wife.

Then you need to train your dog.

[Anonymous]

Just another plea for the folks who do have guns to be open about this with the parents of your children's friends. You may think you're doing enough to protect your kids - and probably you are - but I'm not confident enough in another parent's idea of safety to take that chance with my own child. We don't do houses with guns.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just another plea for the folks who do have guns to be open about this with the parents of your children's friends. You may think you're doing enough to protect your kids - and probably you are - but I'm not confident enough in another parent's idea of safety to take that chance with my own child. We don't do houses with guns.

Yeah, part of having a gun is not letting people know you have one. But don't worry, I'm not inviting any kids over. Between school, camps and extracurricular activities my kids have enough interaction. The neighbor kid is only allowed to play outside.

[Anonymous]

my daughter is only 3, but she has probably had 10+ different kids over to our house for play-dates and birthday parties, and no parent has yet asked if we have guns in the house. We do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just another plea for the folks who do have guns to be open about this with the parents of your children's friends. You may think you're doing enough to protect your kids - and probably you are - but I'm not confident enough in another parent's idea of safety to take that chance with my own child. We don't do houses with guns.

Yes you do. You just don't realize it.

[Anonymous]

OP here. One of our 4 children has a severe dog allergy -- if that weren't the case, this wouldn't be an issue because we'd feel so much better with a dog in the house. Our kids have hosted and participated in tons of play-dates -- not once have we been asked whether there is a gun in our home and neither have we asked other parents. ...though it is something to think about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just another plea for the folks who do have guns to be open about this with the parents of your children's friends. You may think you're doing enough to protect your kids - and probably you are - but I'm not confident enough in another parent's idea of safety to take that chance with my own child. We don't do houses with guns.

Yes you do. You just don't realize it.

Well, you may be right, but we do our best not to. That's why I asked. We actually ask parents right now if they have guns in the home before we do a drop-off playdate. I'm sure at some point I'll have to trust my kids to leave if they see guns, but until they're old enough to understand how important it is, I won't take my chances with someone else's idea of what's "safe enough." Many parents think a biometric gunsafe is enough, others think teaching kids to respect the gun is safe, some think locked and separate from ammo is safe, others still are quite lax. I don't know you well enough to know where you fall, and I don't know enough about how guns can be safe to trust what you do, so we avoid them. Now, I'm sure some parents lie, but what can I do about that? I just have to hope there aren't that many people who would find it acceptable to lie to someone about that.

[Anonymous]

I work as a nanny and always ask about guns during interviews. One person said they keep an unlocked, loaded handgun in their bedroom. I told her I wouldn't take the job and she got very weird about it. Why would you do that with 4 kids, most of which are too small to grasp gun safety?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just another plea for the folks who do have guns to be open about this with the parents of your children's friends. You may think you're doing enough to protect your kids - and probably you are - but I'm not confident enough in another parent's idea of safety to take that chance with my own child. We don't do houses with guns.

Yes you do. You just don't realize it.

Well, you may be right, but we do our best not to. That's why I asked. We actually ask parents right now if they have guns in the home before we do a drop-off playdate. I'm sure at some point I'll have to trust my kids to leave if they see guns, but until they're old enough to understand how important it is, I won't take my chances with someone else's idea of what's "safe enough." Many parents think a biometric gunsafe is enough, others think teaching kids to respect the gun is safe, some think locked and separate from ammo is safe, others still are quite lax. I don't know you well enough to know where you fall, and I don't know enough about how guns can be safe to trust what you do, so we avoid them. Now, I'm sure some parents lie, but what can I do about that? I just have to hope there aren't that many people who would find it acceptable to lie to someone about that.

So what do YOU think is enough? Just curious.

[Anonymous]

I moved to DC to attend college in the late 1980s. There was REAL crime then. Right now, we are looking at the lowest crime rates (murder, armed robbery) in nearly 50 years. Too many people have fear of something that just doesn't exist. Guns in the home are a mistake, and I would never have one. If you are fearful, get a security system. But don't live in the 21st century and pretend its the 20th ... or 19th.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. One of our 4 children has a severe dog allergy -- if that weren't the case, this wouldn't be an issue because we'd feel so much better with a dog in the house. Our kids have hosted and participated in tons of play-dates -- not once have we been asked whether there is a gun in our home and neither have we asked other parents. ...though it is something to think about.

Buy a hypoallergenic dog. It won't cost more than a good gun, safe, ammunition, and gun safety classes, and it will provide a lot more joy and happiness than a lethal weapon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I moved to DC to attend college in the late 1980s. There was REAL crime then. Right now, we are looking at the lowest crime rates (murder, armed robbery) in nearly 50 years. Too many people have fear of something that just doesn't exist. Guns in the home are a mistake, and I would never have one. If you are fearful, get a security system. But don't live in the 21st century and pretend its the 20th ... or 19th.

Ditto. Get an alarm system. The chances of an intruder threatening your family are ridiculously minuscule. What would having a gun provide you? The intruder would likely have a weapon also. In the Gabrielle Giffords shooting, someone was carrying a gun on them and didn't even get a chance to use it. A dog and an alarm system would work just as well - maybe more.

[Anonymous]

A federal marshall did a safety inspection of our house for DH's work. He checked for things like 1) alarm system--be sure to use it, 2) secure doors and windows, including locks--make sure you lock all doors and windows. It is stunning how many burglaries happen because people forget to lock their doors and windows, 3) access to the house from the garage, roof, patio, etc, 4) shrubs that enabled intruders to hide, 5) motion-sensitive lighting, 6) lines of sight from other buildings, 7) parking habits--do you make sure that the garage is empty when you drive in? is the garage/driveway well-lit? do you have control over all your garage door openers?

The marshall suggested getting a dog because it will bark when a stranger gets near the house.

He never, never advised getting a gun. The vast, vast majority of citizens do not have the training required to use even a shot gun responsibly when under duress.