Neighbor Talk
Are there guns at the home of your child’s pal? Ask
Parents that allow their children to go to other homes to play with friends may be gambling with a tragic outcome. It turns out that at least 40 percent of American homes with a child in them have guns. I say “at least” because these are the homes that have reported the presence of a firearm; meanwhile, my educated guess is that the percent is a lot higher, even shockingly and nerve-shatteringly so.
It’s nerve-shattering that a substantial portion of the population has guns? I was disappointed that it was only 40%.
If you as a parent haven’t done so before, it is among your most basic of responsibilities to ask whether the homes, where your children go to play, have firearms and, if they do, whether those guns are locked away so safely that the firearms themselves are no more accessible than the ammunition that arms them.
It is indeed. Because I do not want my children to be at a home that has an inability to protect them.
Somehow, I don’t think that’s what Gene meant. But, then, I have smart neighbors.
Update: Seems to be a trend.
December 6th, 2007 at 10:40 am
Well, luckily I know both of my immediate neighbors are armed including the ones who have girls close to my girls’ ages.
However, what I do instead of nosing around in their business is to educate my daughters on what to do if they find a firearm (Do not touch it, leave the room, tell an adult).
That way, I can cover *every* house they go into at one shot.
Now, at my house the guns I use for recreation are locked and unloaded. No need to have them sitting around. The shotgun… well, that’s simply out of reach of most kids. I do need to lock it up when the babysitter comes over unless I can get her to the range and be assured she knows how to safely handle it in an emergency. Otherwise, it’s way up on a shelf with a full magazine.
The Glock is on me so that’s not something to worry about.
The funny thing is that if kids come to my house, they’d be more likely to get a stern lesson in firearm safety than get hurt by them.
December 6th, 2007 at 11:03 am
Man this meme is everywhere…….check out some of the responses when my local paper asked this question online:
http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=CINCI
December 6th, 2007 at 11:04 am
“educated guess”??
— Is that “educat[ion]” from one of those liberal ass-tard schools that hate guns and self-protection?
December 6th, 2007 at 11:05 am
Sorry wrong link…..here is the correct one:
http://frontier.cincinnati.com/blogs/forum/2007/12/asking-about-guns-in-house.asp#links
December 6th, 2007 at 1:45 pm
Best response ever:
“I would definately ask the parents if there are guns in the house. If there are not, how the hell do they expect to protect my child if the need arises? Should always make sure people are responsible in general with your kids, and especially make sure they can protect them.
December 6th, 2007 at 3:13 pm
When I was a kid the parents of every one of my friends had guns and lots of ammo for them in the house and y’know what? None of us ever got hurt. And that’s because all of our parents taught us to shoot and, most importantly, firearm safety.
I and my brothers had extra motivation to leave other’s guns alone; my dad told us that if he discovered that we’d been messing around with his guns (and the samarai sword) he was gonna kick our asses! We left them alone… 🙂
December 6th, 2007 at 3:50 pm
Most recent Gallup poll (10/07) says 44% of all households have guns. Most recent GSS results (for 2006) indicate that 35% of all households have guns. I am not aware of any other documented studies to support any “educated guess” that is ” shockingly and nerve-shatteringly” higher than these figures.
December 6th, 2007 at 7:23 pm
My kids were often left at a friend’s house– a small, wonderful day care. They also had around 20 guns of various types. They once told me a story of a parent who asked them if they had any guns in the house. My response to them was that they should answer as follows;
“Oh, not to worry. Yes, we are very well armed here.”
December 7th, 2007 at 6:41 am
As I plan to teach my children to not snoop, and not touch items that are not theirs, it should not be an issue. OTOH, I will also teach them to clear and check weapons that children of less responsible parents might play with. I personally do not like Eddie Eagle and the message communicated. Teach your children to be self-reliant from the beginning and they are less likely to support a “nanny state”.
One of these days I need to ask one of these hoplophobes just how children survived the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries when firearms were in most homes and trigger locks etc… non-existent.
December 7th, 2007 at 10:16 am
Gregg, at 5 years old I cannot expect my daughter to know how to get a Littlest Pet Shop hamster unstuck from it’s plastic cage much less clear a firearm. At certain ages, they simply aren’t self reliant. That’s why they’re children.
There’s nothing wrong with having children look up to adults. That’s not what creates a nanny state. Having them never grow out of the stage is what does.
So, in that aspect, I agree with the EE program. Go find an adult.