Gun storage (with young kids)

[LostintheOzone]

Lots of ideas here about safe storage. Ask 5 different people and get 5 different opinions. I don't have small children around the house so one pistol is unsecured. I do have a safe however and everything else goes in there. I think there is a law in this state that requires safe storage. That basically means that if someone who can't legally own a gun and uses your gun, you could be charged.

I've had a safe for about 35 years. If you own firearms you need to own a safe. If you can't afford a safe you probably shouldn't own firearms.

For me it's the same as owning and operating a vehicle. There's a certain level of responsibility that goes with it and it isn't cheap.

 

[GypsmJim]

This has been a very sad thread. It simply is a testament to how low our society has become.

I'm 75 years old now. When I was a kid my Dad's guns were not even hidden. I knew what a gun was. Regardless, I respected my parents and would never have even considered looking at a gun unless Dad was there too. As an aside, we lived on a short dead end street and about 75% of my friends Dad's had guns as well.

My kids are mid 40's now. They were taught the same thing. Our local street had maybe 40% gun owners. Regardless, the kids did not talk about guns in the neighborhood.

My wife is a teacher and you can't imagine how the high schoolers act these days. If my kid said what they say to teachers, I would probably be arrested because they would have had a bat across the head and a mouth washed out with soap.

Sorry state of life today.

 

[Frailer]

…Just like the bullets you send down range, you are legally and morally responsible for your guns and the harm they may cause. This is not 1955 any more. When you lose a gun through your own lackadaisical negligence, you may be found responsible for the harm it will cause, legally. If the law doesn’t catch up with you, you should not rest well the rest of your life knowing you have probably been the proximate cause of harm to others….

We’ll let the “legally” part slide, as one’s legal obligations vary widely, depending on location.

The “morally” part opens a very large can of worms. If I am negligent I certainly bear some responsibility, but the definition of “negligent” is now the question.

I lock the doors when I leave my home, so I consider my moral duty met. If someone chooses to break into my locked home and steal a firearm, I feel no responsibility for any future criminal acts he or she might perform with it.

To take the alternate view is to step onto a slippery slope. In 2011 Surrey (UK) police advised residents not to put wire mesh over their garden shed windows out of concern that thieves who injured themselves while breaking in might sue.

 

[ImprovedModel56Fan]

In 2011 Surrey (UK) police advised residents not to put wire mesh over their garden shed windows out of concern that thieves who injured themselves while breaking in might sue.

Archie Bunker accurately described the English outlook.

 

[smoothshooter]

The security measures are more than enough to keep your guns out of the hands of any kid that is not using tools.
If you have a kid that would resort to using tools to get access to your guns, then you have a whole ‘nuther set of problems to deal with.