Gun and Kids at home

Yeah, Doyle, your wizards of smart can do all the studies on feral children that they want to: GIGO.

All teens may well be more inclined to follow their emotions ..... well disciplined children will do what they are supposed to do.

The average teenager today "knows more" yet is less capable than kids the same age were 100 years ago, due in large part to our society ignoring the wisdom of the ages in favor of more "progressive" approaches.....

Lock up your guns, Lock up your ammo, in case your kids classmates come over...... but it is a far better plan to instill safety, personal responsibility and an implicit understanding of cause and effect in your kids than to hope they never runa cross an unsecured gun: Guns are out there. Unsafe people are out there. They WILL encounter them. They had best know how to handle those situations.
 
You may want to check your State's laws.

In my State, here is how it reads. (YMMV)
Pretty clear.


790.174 Safe storage of firearms required.—
(1) A person who stores or leaves, on a premise under his or her control, a loaded firearm, as defined in s. 790.001, and who knows or reasonably should know that a minor is likely to gain access to the firearm without the lawful permission of the minor’s parent or the person having charge of the minor, or without the supervision required by law, shall keep the firearm in a securely locked box or container or in a location which a reasonable person would believe to be secure or shall secure it with a trigger lock, except when the person is carrying the firearm on his or her body or within such close proximity thereto that he or she can retrieve and use it as easily and quickly as if he or she carried it on his or her body.
 
Kids in the home and curious, SURE THING.
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That's just the thing: they should not be curious about that gun. They should KNOW that gun will produce a very loud bang and punch holes in stuff ... and that in the house is no place for that to happen .... AND exactly how to keep that from happening.

They learn that a stove is HOT in the same fashion. They don't monkey around with a hot stove because they are curious. They know and understand that it can and will burn them if they don't respect it.... or at least they know that if their parents will do their job and teach them that...... too many parents prefer to keep their kids ignorant of things that can harm them by removing all potential threats from any possibility of crossing paths with their kids ....
 
No young children should have access to firearms, at that age its the parents responsibility to keep them safe that includes denying them access where possible to things that could harm them. Children can be taught firearms safety etc without having unsupervised access to them. In most countries allowing children access to firearm would be seen as neglect.

Laws Imposing Criminal Liability when a Child Gains Access as a Result of Negligent Storage of a Firearm: Fourteen states and the District of Columbia, have laws that impose criminal liability on persons who negligently store firearms, where minors could or do gain access to the firearm. Typically, these laws apply whenever the person “knows or reasonably should know” that a child is likely to gain access to the firearm.
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I have a 7 year old and a 5 year old.
All my firearms that are not to be accessible for home defense are kept unloaded and locked up or stored very high up where the kids cannot reach.
The pistol that I have for home defense is kept in a GunVault safe with the electronic push buttons (not biometric) and the pistol is kept loaded with safety on.

I have taught my kids since they were babies that my firearms are a no-no to touch when I am not around. But, when I am home, if they want to see them and talk and touch them, all they have to do is ask me and I will show them and teach them about any of the firearms I have.
(They especially like the M1 Garands...)

-Mike
 
Locked and unloaded except for SD/HD which is either on my person or secured in quick entry lock box. While both my girls are great shots and understand gun safety, I still keep everything locked down. The prospect of leaving loaded firearms unsecured and easily accessible when we are at work, kids are at school etc just does not seem the be wise. I do not want to come home to someone pointing my guns at me or my kids. And if someone manages to break in while we're away, they'll at least need to take the time and really work at it to get any of my stuff.

That's just what my wife and I agree makes sense for us. To each their own...

Be well all,
Pat
 
The prospect of leaving loaded firearms unsecured and easily accessible when we are at work, kids are at school etc just does not seem the be wise.
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I suppose a lot of this is an "age/era" thing.

We grew up back when kids had a boatload of responsibility at a very young age, and access to firearms was pretty much a given in any household I was ever in. We all grew up with them, knew what the were, and what they were about, and even went out on our own with them, at an age these days, the parents would likely be arrested if you were seen.

It seems these days, kids are not to be trusted with anything, or even educated, in anything other than what the "party" thinks they should be. Todd forbid, they learn to think for themselves!

Scary times we live in, aint it? I suppose in another generation or two, it will all be over. Ive seen it from the inception, and my kids were some of the first to encounter it. Luckily (or unluckily) for them, I "re-educated" them everyday after school. :)

Now, when they have kids, it'll be their turn to do the educating. I know at least some in the future, will still know they can, and should think for themselves. Unfortunately, Ive probably saddled them with a curse.
 
Doyle said:
Absolutely not so. Anybody with any training in child and adolescent behavior knows that this just doesn't hold water. Yes, there are the occasional kids that can be trusted like this but most kid's minds just don't work they way.
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WOW!
And to think I have raised 5 kids over the past 25 years and have NEVER had a problem with them messing around with firearms. CRAZY. My kids must all be cut from a different cloth than the ones studied by liberal sociologists raised in inner cities. I postulate that parenting style is more relevant to the outcome of any study in child behavior than the innate undisciplined nature of children.
 
This topic comes up from time to time in several gun forums that I read. There are always a few parents who think their kids are so well behaved and so well trained that loaded guns can be left where the kids have access. Hogwash! If kids are around, LOCK UP YOUR GUNS.

No child always obeys. They will misbehave. I misbehaved, and so did you. My dad trained me very thoroughly, but there were occasions when I played with his guns when no adults were around. Guns are so fascinating that kids are drawn to them. You don't need a college degree in child psychology to understand this; you just need to understand human nature. If kids are around, LOCK UP YOUR GUNS.
 
WOW!
And to think I have raised 5 kids over the past 25 years and have NEVER had a problem with them messing around with firearms. CRAZY.
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We are talking about firearms and children in general not your children just because they were responsible around firearms doesn't mean others children will. The responsible advice is never let small children unsupervised access to firearms. Apart form the common sense aspect it maybe illegal and viewed as child neglect if a child is injured or killed.
 
AK103K said:
It seems these days, kids are not to be trusted with anything, or even educated, in anything other than what the "party" thinks they should be. Todd forbid, they learn to think for themselves.
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We have created our own problem. We don't expect children to be trusted, so they are not trustworthy. We expect them to want to be children or teens until they are 25, and they follow suite. I think that logic works both ways. If we expect them to be trustworthy, they are. Children are far more capable then this liberally bent generation will allow them to be.
 
A lot of good advice here and I hope it keeps coming...

I do realize that my kids need to be trained. I have been doing that already and it will progress as they get older. I have shown them pictures of guns, we have talked about how serious they are, what to do if you find one, etc.

But really what I need to know about are the measures I can take if they get curious or another kid does - because it does happen regardless of what we as parents do. All kids do dumb things at one time or another. Safes are a must. I have decided I will pretty much make my non SD guns inoperable in a safe in a locked closet. My SD gun is a revolver and it will be in the safe in my bedroom, loaded, and I will have an additional lock blocking the cylinder from closing. Thus 2-3 locks per gun.
 
Most of us did not get a gun of our own until we were ten or twelve years old, some later, some earlier. I'll bet not one single person on this forum was allowed unfettered access to a loaded firearm when they were of Kindergarten age.

Our parents knew it was irresponsible to let us handle firearms at an early age, and this has not changed one whit.

Lock it up.
 
Our parents knew it was irresponsible to let us handle firearms at an early age, and this has not changed one whit.
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My parents allowed it, but encouraged it, as did we. Its the main reason I believe we never had any issues. Basically, contestant training from birth.

How is it you feel its irresponsible? The younger you start teaching your kids, the faster they learn. Waiting until they are 10 or 12 to start, is a major mistake.
 
Most of us did not get a gun of our own until we were ten or twelve years old, some later, some earlier.
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Your childhood .... I'm glad it was not mine.

I'll bet not one single person on this forum was allowed unfettered access to a loaded firearm when they were of Kindergarten age.
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You lost that bet already: I never saw a gun safe growing up, and trigger locks were unknown. Grandpa kept most all his guns behind the door to the stairs ( and I know the .22 was always loaded), and Dad's were on a gunrack over his bed .... a very few people had actual "gun cabinets", usually made as a high school wood shop project - all of them had glass fronts (and sometimes sides) and NONE of them locked..... I rode around in pickups with multitple guns in racks in the rear window or above the sunvisors (the "Outa-Site" gun rack) .... guns and ammunition were freely accessible to my siblings and me from the time we could crawl ..... but we knew not to touch them, as surely as we knew not to touch the stove in winter. Doing so would result in some immediate pain .... but I'm sure modern progressive society would consider that abuse, as well.
 
cjwils said:
This topic comes up from time to time in several gun forums that I read. There are always a few parents who think their kids are so well behaved and so well trained that loaded guns can be left where the kids have access. Hogwash! If kids are around, LOCK UP YOUR GUNS.



No child always obeys. They will misbehave. I misbehaved, and so did you. My dad trained me very thoroughly, but there were occasions when I played with his guns when no adults were around. Guns are so fascinating that kids are drawn to them. You don't need a college degree in child psychology to understand this; you just need to understand human nature. If kids are around, LOCK UP YOUR GUNS.
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Let's take this a bit deeper. You are suggesting that children will access unlocked guns, and that proper training and removing the mystery has no real impact on how children react around guns when left to their own devices. OK. So what control measure do you suggest to prevent parents from forgetting to LOCK UP THEIR GUNS? If the children are not educated and allowed to learn in a controlled manner, the result may be (and in fact has been) very catastrophic.
People forget to do things all the time; yes even gun safety. If you doubt this, look up how many people get DQd from shooting competitions for safety violations. If people didn't forget not to break the 180, or touch ammo on the safe table, they wouldn't get DQd (most of the DQs are for violations like that). Oh yes, you can lambast them for forgetting, but the truth is we all do forget from time to time.
Why do I belabor this point? Because I would prefer to train my children at an early age about gun safety so they will be safe around guns. The point was made earlier about other children coming into the house with unsecured guns. The same point can be made about my children going into another person's house where the gun owner doesn't subscribe to the current mantra of LOCK UP YOUR GUNS. If my child has an appropriate level of understanding, he won't touch the guns, nor will he abide others playing with them either.
So to your mantra of if you have kids around LOCK UP YOUR GUNS, I say take the time to invest in their lives and teach them gun safety, then choose how you will store your guns in general.
 
jimbob86 said:
Your childhood .... I'm glad it was not mine.







You lost that bet already: I never saw a gun safe growing up, and trigger locks were unknown. Grandpa kept most all his guns behind the door to the stairs ( and I know the .22 was always loaded), and Dad's were on a gunrack over his bed .... a very few people had actual "gun cabinets", usually made as a high school wood shop project - all of them had glass fronts (and sometimes sides) and NONE of them locked..... I rode around in pickups with multitple guns in racks in the rear window or above the sunvisors (the "Outa-Site" gun rack) .... guns and ammunition were freely accessible to my siblings and me from the time we could crawl ..... but we knew not to touch them, as surely as we knew not to touch the stove in winter. Doing so would result in some immediate pain .... but I'm sure modern progressive society would consider that abuse, as well.
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Funny, I too remember the days of a shotgun or rifle in the back window of EVERY truck in the High School parking lot during hunting season. And that was 30 miles south of DC in the 1980s. How times have changed. It is now illegal to have a pocket knife on school grounds.
 
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