Gun safe in child's room - Rob Pincus

In reading through this discussion, and the various reports of Rob's remarks, I'm struck by the fact that no one has really talked about the kid himself having access to the gun.

I know that from the time I turned 12 onward, I had access to my Mossberg 590 and my part in the event of any break in, was to collect my sister, and hole up in our shared bathroom and wait for either Pop or the police to come get us.

And part of that was because of exactly what Rob was talking about, my sister and I's bedrooms were on the opposite side of the house from the master bedroom.

I think the flak that Rob is getting over this is a fine example of the growing divide in America in those who take personal responsibility for themselves and thier family and those who expect someone else to manage everything.
 
I didn't want to talk about whether a child should or should not have access to the gun because I believe that's a subject that the parent should make the call on. I've met 6 year olds who were more responsible with firearms than many 12 year olds. This was about the subject of putting a gun within relatively easy reach of a child. If something tragic were to happen, do you think the prosecutor will give a pass to those who put a gun in a child's room because they thought the child was mature enough? Not a chance, they're going to hang that person out to dry.

My parents would have called me a responsible child. They never really had firearms in the house, but I knew what to do if I came across a gun. But they still fascinated me. I had a buddy in high school who also would be considered responsible. He had his own .243 that he hunted with by himself all the time. That didn't stop him from figuring out the combo to his Dad's gun safe and showing me all the guns they had. I don't ever remember doing a chamber check on any of those guns, yet I held each one. That also didn't stop my friend from raiding his dad's stash of black powder (also under lock and key) and us playing with it. I distinctly remember one incident that left the garage full of smoke, and him and I running out coughing. Some of the stuff we did was really stupid, and we were "responsible" teenagers. Our parents never new the stuff we did, and we're very lucky we have all our fingers still, and didn't put any new holes in things that didn't have holes before.

If you feel you need to put a gun in a child's room, do what you feel you need to do. My kids are 4 and 1, so it would be trivial to put a safe on a top shelf in the closet and they wouldn't be able to get to it, at least not for a couple years. But as a parent, it's my responsibility to keep my kids safe. I don't trust a small, cheap safe to keep my kids out. They'll figure it out eventually. Do what you need to do to keep your family safe. I know the best way for me to do that is to keep guns out of their reach (for now) and prevent unsupervised access as much as possible. The easiest way to do that is keep all my guns in the floor safe, and a gun on me at all times.
 
Carrying in the home is obviously going to make you better prepared, but I recognize that it isn't realistic for most people. It is like saying that Carrying a Glock 17 makes you more prepared than carrying a Glock 26, but I know that most people will opt for a smaller gun for CCW.

Here's a video clip from a program I did yesterday:

Thom Hartmann Show
 
Carrying in the home is obviously going to make you better prepared, but I recognize that it isn't realistic for most people. It is like saying that Carrying a Glock 17 makes you more prepared than carrying a Glock 26, but I know that most people will opt for a smaller gun for CCW.
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I have my gun on me when I'm home 24/7. Even if I'm in the shower it's within arms reach of me. I don't see a better time to be more prepared for the fight.

I've been known to carry a Glock 17 :) I carry a Glock 19 now. It's an all around gun thankfully. Spare Glock 17 mags all around the place too.
 
Carrying in the home is obviously going to make you better prepared, but I recognize that it isn't realistic for most people. It is like saying that Carrying a Glock 17 makes you more prepared than carrying a Glock 26, but I know that most people will opt for a smaller gun for CCW.
Click to expand...

I completely understand what you're saying Rob. But for most people, they're making a decision based on convenience, not off of practicality. In your example, it's more convenient to carry a G26. It's smaller, easier to hide. But, the G19 is more practical. It's not that much harder to conceal, but you get the benefits of a longer barrel, bigger (meaning easier to hold) grip, and more ammo.

The same thing with hiding a gun in the kids room (and every room for that matter) vs. carrying at home. It's more practical in almost every possible way to carry at home. You are always, no matter what, within arms reach of your weapon. It's secure, in the way that no one is going to be able to get to it easily. All your other guns are secure, so there's no easy way for an unauthorized user (kid, burglar, stupid friend, etc) to gain access. It's more convenient not having to carry. You can wear your strechy pants, and you don't have that 2-3lbs on your belt/pocket/whatever.

If you're compromising security for convenience, that's your choice. It's not a wrong choice. Carrying a handgun is compromising security for convenience. If it was convenient, I'd carry a long gun, because it's more effective in almost every possible way. But last I checked, no one has made an IWB holster for an AR.

Having said all that, I'm glad you created some controversy. I'm not against keeping a gun in the kids room, but it's a choice that has to be seriously considered and well thought out. For my purposes, it's not that inconvenient to carry a gun in the house.
 
This may be a bit off topic, but I think it has relevance. I haven't read the article that is the basis for this thread, but where I grew up the legal age limit for hunting was 12 years old, and most boys had rilfes and shotguns tucked into bedroom closets and bedroom gun racks/cabinets from that age on. Many or most of them had siblings around the house also. It was a non-issue, and no one that I knew ever got hurt, was injured by an intruder who figured out where the guns were located, nor did any of them ever behave negligent or criminally themselves. The only thing that seems to have changed in the years since IMO is the mentality of the country, and the maturity of its inhabitants. Not to mention a devaluing of human life, except for the lives of criminals who seem to be provided with every excuse and break, while law abiding citizens are subject to ever increasing legislation.
 
My dad did this

As a matter of fact the guns were stored in the closet in my bedroom. Every one of them except the DW .357 mag dad kept loaded. Dad kept the majority of the ammo in his room or in a metal cabinet in the garage. They were in that closet before I was even born and are still kept there to this day.

I was taught the right way and never touched one out of turn. I understood the conciquences if I did and the temptation was never there. My brother and I had friends over and it was never an issue not even once. Dad also kept a loaded 12 ga cruiser ready in a weird closet in his bedroom just behind his bedroom door. I had never seen it until the night we had a burgler.

Dad and I heard the dog loosing it and out of seemingly no where he handed me a mossy 500 that I had never seen before, racked it and said 'its just like yours". Nothing bad came of that night except for an idiot tearing himsef to pieces in the multaflora roses known to our faimly as "wait a minute bushes". But it proves two points.

1. I never knew there was a second gun in the house until he told me where he hid it.

2. It is perfectly acceptable to keep a firearm in a childs bedroom without it turning into a catastrophy.

Rob was advocating keeping a second shotgun in an extra safe in the childs bedroom. While I wouldn't keep my primary there it would be a good second options.

With Kind Regards, Vermonter

ETA: During the above incident I was 19 and home from college for the older brothers wedding. He did not involve a child in an HD incident.

Also has anyone seen this http://buff.ly/194bxQF
 
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I believe a gun in every room is ideal. You don't get to choose where you are when an intruder enters. As long as its secured in a safe (or a good hidey hole), there is always one near at hand. :)
 
rburch .."Mine too, but what if you have to go to the bathroom?"

I don't have any kids at home, so I can't speak to the value of having a safe in the kid's room. But I do keep a handgun in the cabinet over the toilet so I'm never caught with my pants down ... I'm betting others do the same ...
 
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