Have you asked the parents of your kids' friends about guns in their house? (pills, boys)
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This was a huge issue for me when I moved to Florida from up north...my son was 10 and allowed to go on play dates after school at other boys homes...one child's father was a huge gun enthusiast...the boy had his own collection and the key to his gun case...well my son came home thrilled with how he and his friend were playing with the guns...well I flipped my $h!t and he was never allowed over that boys house again...but his friend was welcome to my home anytime...well word got back to "gun daddy" and he went up to school to complain about me to the principal...well the principal said it was an out of school matter and told the dad to call me...well he called me irate carrying on like a madman...I let him carry on without saying a word...finally he paused and I calmly asked if he was done...then I explained to him that my decision to not let my son play at his home had just been reaffirmed by his rant...guns and irrational hot tempered people don't mix...
My close buddy who has several guns told me that he always says NO to having guns when other parents ask. His justification is that he does not want others judging him!
It is no one's business but your own. I don't understand the entire concept of asking if there are guns in a house. When I was a kid everyone had guns in their houses. Heck, I had my own BB guns, .22 and 12 ga shotgun I used to walk down the street with and into the woods to plink. We never shot each other and never had the urge to do so as none shot each other. I was instructed by my father about firearms as he was military and had a nice collection. We use to go plinking with him and shoot rats at a nearby dump.
What good is a firearm when locked away unloaded with the ammo in another locked location? Someone breaks into the house and you are running from room to room trying to arm yourself. Might as well call 911 at that point and wait for them.
It is no one's business but your own. I don't understand the entire concept of asking if there are guns in a house. When I was a kid everyone had guns in their houses. Heck, I had my own BB guns, .22 and 12 ga shotgun I used to walk down the street with and into the woods to plink. We never shot each other and never had the urge to do so as none shot each other. I was instructed by my father about firearms as he was military and had a nice collection. We use to go plinking with him and shoot rats at a nearby dump.
What good is a firearm when locked away unloaded with the ammo in another locked location? Someone breaks into the house and you are running from room to room trying to arm yourself. Might as well call 911 at that point and wait for them.
good post
I come from a hunting family, guns were not a mystery , I was taught how to handle and respect one
I grew up in a house,,with a loaded gun, and never once thought about playing with it
I had a bb gun growing up too,,,loved it,,,we had much fun target practicing with this
I gave my son a 20 gauge shotgun for Christmas,,, when he was 12- we shot it off the deck xmas morning
he asked for a shotgun to go hunting with me..
I taught him how to handle and respect a gun, and never once did he think to play with them with his friends
maine has the highest gun rate per capita, and lowest crime rate,,,its not a coincidence
when I was a kid,,no one asked about guns in the house,,
we spent nights at our friends houses,,,where both parents smoked,, cooked French fries in Crisco,
Last edited by mainebrokerman; 06-22-2014 at 02:14 PM..
One of the best ways to impress upon a young mind just exactly how powerful a weapon can be is to fill a gallon milk jug with water (add red food coloring if desired) and then shoot it with a hollowpoint bullet. The results are guaranteed to be impressive. Then ask them to call the bullet back, and put the water back in the jug.
Calling the bullet back is what most would like to do when shooting wildly and sending bullets farther downrange than intended and hitting something unintentionally. LEOs are often guilty of doing so, especially when in a gun play scenario. LEOs aren't the sharpest shooters in the world so my stock in their ability to recall errant bullets when they go downrange. That is something you are to keep in the back of your mind when shooting and is the reason most outdoor ranges have huge earthen berms as backdrops behind the targets.
It is no one's business but your own. I don't understand the entire concept of asking if there are guns in a house. When I was a kid everyone had guns in their houses. Heck, I had my own BB guns, .22 and 12 ga shotgun I used to walk down the street with and into the woods to plink. We never shot each other and never had the urge to do so as none shot each other. I was instructed by my father about firearms as he was military and had a nice collection. We use to go plinking with him and shoot rats at a nearby dump.
What good is a firearm when locked away unloaded with the ammo in another locked location? Someone breaks into the house and you are running from room to room trying to arm yourself. Might as well call 911 at that point and wait for them.
You need to understand that there are parts of this country where everybody doesn't own guns. I grew up in Northern NJ, and never saw one up close until I dated a cop in my early 20's.
When my kids were little, we lived in the same town I grew up in. Guns were still rare. When I took my boys to the police and fire academy open house each fall, their eyes would get huge when they caught sight of all the weapons. If they had a chance to handle one, I can't swear they wouldn't want to.
Even after we moved to rural western NJ, most of the guns were hunting rifles, not handguns.
My close buddy who has several guns told me that he always says NO to having guns when other parents ask. His justification is that he does not want others judging him!
I say no too...I don't care if other parents judge me, but I don't want them to break in when I'm not home and steal my guns. You never really know what kind of person someone is, you don't have to be good or trustworthy to produce a child, and I've known some really good kids with terrible parents.
I would interpret that as a yes, and probably wouldn't feel comfortable sending my kid to your house, since you weren't even able to talk openly about it. If it has to be a secret, I have to wonder why.
But, to be fair, one could also ask why you feel the need to KNOW if there are guns in the house, and what your agenda is? Maybe your brother is a thug who gives you a cut of his take every time he empties out a house. Guns fetch decent money. Or maybe you want to know where to get a gun so you can commit a crime with it, then pin it on someone else.
That's no more or less preposterous than the assertion you just made above.
When I took my boys to the police and fire academy open house each fall, their eyes would get huge when they caught sight of all the weapons. If they had a chance to handle one, I can't swear they wouldn't want to.
Dern right they would want to. That is NORMAL. The best way to satisfy that curiosity and desire is to show them how to handle a firearm (I don't let "anti's" bully me into calling them "weapons") and take them to a range where they can learn to fire them. That's if you live in the city...if you live in northern Maine like I do, you can just shoot in your back yard.
As long as a parent has an anti-gun stance - and kids can smell FEAR a mile away - there is always going to be that attraction on their part. As a parent myself, and now a grandparent, I understand the allure that a firearm has to a child. Part of the mystique for them is the attitude of the parents. Even if you choose not to have firearms in your own home, allowing an interested child to be trained in safe firearm handling and to try hitting a target themselves, will rub off some of the mystery and attraction. IN NO WAY does that promote violent children! Violence has more to do with the videogames they play with, than handling a firearm. I am more concerned with the videogames my grandkids play at their friends' homes, than whether a firearm is present there, or not.
One of the BEST choices any parent can make, if they notice an interest in guns with their child, is to enroll the child in a state-sponsored hunter's safety course. All states have them, and most states allow kids aged 11 or 12, sometimes younger. Trying to "protect" your kids from exposure to firearms is impossible; you'll just make them go secretive about it. Keep the conversation out in the open, which is healthy. You can't go everywhere with your child; that is NOT healthy. Help them make good choices. Ignoring the gun issue will not make it go away. Keeping your kids from playing at their friends' houses if there are guns there, will not make the issue go away. Taking the mystery out of it, keeping the lines of communication open, and allowing the curiosity to be satisfied with competent adult supervision, WILL.
That said, some of the most horrific murders I have heard of have been committed with kitchen cutlery, by surprising young teens. Keep tabs on your child's psychological development. THAT is what causes dangerous problems with firearms and kitchen cutlery - not the tools themselves.
I would interpret that as a yes, and probably wouldn't feel comfortable sending my kid to your house, since you weren't even able to talk openly about it. If it has to be a secret, I have to wonder why.
Private is for things that happen in bedrooms and bathrooms, and things that could be embarrassing in public. What the heck are you doing with your gun that makes it "private?"
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