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The roommates still have a right to feel threatened by someone they barely know living in their house with a gun.
Kudos to the lady in South Carolina though.
Which brings up an interesting point. If Pirnie was keeping the loaded guns around so they could all be protected, why didn't she tell them where the guns were and encourage them to go with her to the range and practice so they all could be protected?
if so, then, presuming 1-year lease, she dont have to move out until 09.01.2019 so long she can afford the rent.
but if the six others moved in january and she moved in in september, does everyone renew for a 1-year period on 09.01.2018 ?; or, does everyone (including the new girl) re-sign on 01.01.2019 ?; or, does everyone have their own lease with different move out days ? ... seems messy. is it even legal for 7 persons to share (i assume) 1 level of a 3 family in somerville (each unit needs 2 unblocked points of egress in case of emergency; each bedroom needs at least 1 window; a legal bedroom cannot be only accessable via another bedroom; ...).
Somerville code limits unrelated persons sharing an apartment to 4 people. The ordinance is frequently overlooked and is designed to prevent illegal rooming houses.
If they are related - no problem. I grew up there and plenty of families had 7-10 kids sharing 3 bedrooms.
A few years back I was reading a memoir set in a rural area where the memoirist felt threatened by neighbors who dealt drugs so for her, living alone, a gun was important if only for her peace of mind. The thought "Now I get it" flashed. I understand hunting and gun collecting and target shooting and self defense.
But why Pirnie appeared clueless that new roommates might not welcome or at least accept the guns (especially kept loaded and unlocked) mystifies. She pokes fun at one who expressed concern that "the gun might just go off" and announces herself trained in gun handling. Why the world should they trust her? Is it so unlikely that someone might sit next door trying to study but then simultaneously wondering if Pirnie "playing" (to his/her mind, cleaning ... loading) might send an accidental discharge thru a thin drywall? That the discharge would happen might be unlikely. But that a roommate might wonder is not. Pirnie's response is offense that she's not trusted for her self-reported gun skills.
Does that concern make that person idiotic? If Pirnie is so concerned about her personal safety that she wants the guns why cannot she grant her roommates the same peace of mind?
We don't know what prompted the roommate search. Maybe Pirnie was talking a lot about guns and how she'd handle a future abusive situation then, as the Brits say, the penny dropped. Pirnie also belittles the girl who said something about fear consuming her. The French girl is described as having PTSD after the shooting death of her friend. Maybe that was the girl who Pirnie was laughing at saying "she could not make this stuff up" with the French girl's reaction then sparking more general concern among the group. Certainly it was not because Pirnie was from Alabama, for that they knew from the beginning. Maybe one girl did say something about a MAGA hat as they stumbled to explain why they'd become concerned. Something set them off.
And, me, yes, I don't much "like" Pirnie so perhaps would have shared their concern. It is incomprehensible that she had guns loaded and unsecured - then went away for the weekend. Is that legal anywhere in the United States? Maybe it is with this showing my ignorance, but would a presumably intelligent person somehow think it was okay to do that in a shared Somerville apartment? My reaction if stupidly I found myself in that position would be nothing but apology even if irritated that the girls entered my room. That gun safe would be purchased ASAP with the girls seeing it existed. No need weeks later to do a "show and tell" with a police captain. Pirnie demonstrating to her roommates back in October that she was both concerned and responsible would have gone a long way.
There did appear to be a gap between what the girls thought had been the agreed compromise and MA requirements (the gun safe plus the trigger locks). Maybe that's why Pirnie continued to waffle with a later decision to move out (then not move out) with that delay then further inflaming the situation. I can't help but think the roommates were left with a whole bunch of "whys" - why was it is so important to Pirnie to have multiple weapons in such a state of readiness that she didn't want a trigger lock?
This thread really isn't so much about gun control as it is a study in psychodynamics. There appear to have been subsequent communications between Pirnie and her father and the landlord. She only alludes to content, saying the landlord now wanted her out asap (in the midst of finals). The landlord sounded quite reasonable in his initial memo writing he wanted to work for a "smooth transition" and making himself available if needed.
It sure sounds like there are two entities (the roommates and then the landlord) who tried to work with Pirnie with both efforts failing. Pirnie's response was to go to the press. Like I said earlier, what she hopes to gain from that decision sure isn't clear.
So, yeah, I judge Pirnie harshly. Sure, I don't know whether she is as self-absorbed as her behavior suggests. The roommates with some experience of her appear to have been forming a negative assessment, hence the room search. Pirnie asks in the Beacon article why the roommates didn't just "ask" her? That's a very good question.
By the time that roommate search occurred, matters had already started to break down in that household. Then it only got worse. With that history, the attorney advice to the landlord that the girls and Pirnie's guns needed to separate was spot on. Too bad Pirnie didn't see it that way. But then, hey, she's the victim - and plays it well.
Last edited by EveryLady; 12-06-2018 at 08:34 AM..
Don't project YOUR FEARS onto me. I'm not the one who can't face life without a deadly weapon in their hand.
With one single offensive post, you have prevented any and all serious consideration of anything you have to say on any issue going forward. This kind of stance and, frankly, attitude is why your brand of conservatism has no future.
"Don't project YOUR FEARS onto me. I'm not the one who can't face life without a deadly weapon in their hand.'
Yet I'd bet you have life insurance, health insurance and home owners insurance.
Do YOU have "fear" about dying, getting sick or something happening to your house?
Sorry, being PRACTICAL and being PREPARED has NOTHING to do with "fear" and claiming so, only shows your LACK reality!
TENS of THOUSANDS of people each year defend themselves against ARMED bad guys. to IGNORE that FACT does NOT show well for you.
It COULD happen to you and your only recourse is cry and whine, "PLEASE, DON'T shoot me".
Analyzing data from the FBI and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "researchers at Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard University reported that firearm assaults were 6.8 times more common in the states with the most guns versus those with the least"
Also, an analysis of "15 different studies found that people who had access to firearms at home were nearly twice as likely to be murdered as people who did not."
"American continues to attract esteemed authors from many fields: World leaders: former Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland of Norway, former United Nations Secretary-General Trygve Lie
U.S. Government Officials: former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich, former Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, former Secretary of Defense Les Aspin"
Gee, ALL DEMS. Some of the MOST LIBERAL politicians you could find.
Thought I'd add a few more facts to the discussion. Just in case anyone is interested in actual facts rather than random opinions or outright nonsense.
Death rate by firearms in 2016 per 100,000 total population
:
21.5 - Alabama
3.4 - Massachusetts
Massachusetts is ranked as the state with the lowest death rate. While Alabama misses out on having the highest death rate by firearms because of Alaska.
Strange that we don't hear all that much about the carnage in Alabama.
And Vt with the LEAST gun laws and PLENTY of guns, is at 11.8
I can't help but wonder how some posters would react if their daughter called up and said "Dad or Mom, I have this roommate who has a bunch of loaded guns in her room not secured that she's keeping in case she needs to deal with an abusive boyfriend. This is making me really uncomfortable."
Would you (1) tell your daughter to chill or (2) suggest she buy her own weapon or (3) offer to pay a second rent so she can leave without disturbing Pirnie in any way or (4) send your daughter to psychological counseling or (5) contact the landlord for assistance and advice.
We know what the roommates did. Be honest. If this was your kid, would you really choose one of the other options? Most of you are responding about your own situations. That's not the issue here. And for those who try to correlate guns to cleaning solutions or knives, it is highly unlikely that the roommates will get caught in the crossfire from cleaning fluid!
Get real, c'mon.
"This is making me really uncomfortable." Just another snowflake!
"This is making me really uncomfortable." Just another snowflake!
That may be a snowflake view but the roommates appear to have successfully acted on it to where Pirnie and the guns are gone. (Post publicity, sure hope she's still not there for that would be awkward!) It's Pirnie who's been acting from pure emotion (starting with stockpiling guns to deal per her quote with a possible abusive dating situation).
Pirnie pokes fun in the media at some of the roommate and landlord statements, although she's smart enough to realize that the landlord memo is "carefully crafted." The same is true for the roommate memo. Clearly it is written to provide background documentation to where Pirnie might (if it came to that) be found in violation of a lease. In it they state:
1. Pirnie is a "valued" and "respected" roommate. Translation for a future action: This isn't personal. Reality: By this point they probably hate her guts.
2. "We respect her rights to keep firearms in a lawful manner." Translation for a future action: We're not going to make this a fruitless argument about the Second Amendment. Reality: Even though they offered compromises, my guess is their strong preference is that the guns be gone.
3. The resulting anxiety "deprives us of the quiet enjoyment of the premises to which we are entitled. Translation for a future action: That sure sounds like legal language drawn either from the lease or perhaps a municipal statute.
Having illegal weapons (or, depending on the law, improperly stored weapons) on your premises may well be deemed legally sufficient to have deprived them of "quiet enjoyment." If this ever went to Court, my guess is THAT would be the issue with it the sworn testimony of six girls against Pirnie if she tried to deny the guns had been unlocked (which to my knowledge she has not). Sure that Pirnie finally got a gun safe may have been relevant but the girls did not know the current gun status when the wrote the memo.
Instead of being sensible about *any* of this, Pirnie instead shot herself in the foot (bad pun) with all the waffling when what she needed to do was suck it up and make nice with the roommates - and along the way get her guns legal. The latter she finally did. But too late. Like I said earlier, this whole thing struck me as a bad chess match.
But who's the snowflake, really?
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Head over to the thread about the lady who took down an escape convict with her legally owned gun.
