Re: Would you let your kid play at a friends house knowing they have a gun in their house?

I would be ok with it because my DH is a police officer and my son will be brought up knowing that a gun is not a toy and you never touch them.

Re: Would you let your kid play at a friends house knowing they have a gun in their house?

when i was a kid there were guns in our home my dad was an avid hunter they were double locked and we NEVER EVER went near them. its just what we were taught. I was a hunter before i had kids and i am still an avid shooter i have a pistol permit and i go to the range regularly with my dad. I Do NOT have guns in my home just because my FIL was a cop and dh's family was terribly irresponsible with firearms safety. they were left out etc etc. so i chose not to have them here to keep my DH from slipping into old bad habits regarding gun safety. but that being said asking the parents is a really good idea and if you dont feel like they are safe enough than no way. I always ask. even for my 11 and 12 yo dd's its still a ? i ask her friends parents along with TONS of new ones!!!

Re: Would you let your kid play at a friends house knowing they have a gun in their house?

Re: Would you let your kid play at a friends house knowing they have a gun in their house?

We have guns. They are locked in a gun cabinet and the bullets are somewhere else. The keys are hidden.

Re: Would you let your kid play at a friends house knowing they have a gun in their house?

This is an issue that has come up in our lives and I find it very upsetting. I am glad this was posted.

99 percent of the time, my answer would be NO. There is someone I know who says his gun always locked up but to him "always locked up" seems to have a different meaning than it does to everyone else. He has a place to lock it up but I found out that is not the place where the gun always is. I also found out that one of his frequent house guests has a gun and my DH heard the guest trying to hand over the gun and ask the homeowner to lock it up and the homeowner said, "don't worry, it's fine." Until that time, I thought that this house guest was irresponsible with his gun because he brings it to so many places (there is a semi-valid reason). Now I think that the guest is responsible but that we have to be careful of the entire situation.

People always say that guns themselves are not dangerous but people are dangerous. However, If there is no gun there can be no accidents involving it.

DH does not understand people owning guns with the purpose of defending themselves unless they are fully capable of pointing it at someone and pulling the trigger. He does not believe that many people are capable of pulling the trigger. I am not sure if I agree.

Message edited 8/30/2008 10:24:52 PM.

Re: Would you let your kid play at a friends house knowing they have a gun in their house?

So those that have guns locked in one place and ammunition in another, how does that work if you are using it for self defense purposes?

Re: Would you let your kid play at a friends house knowing they have a gun in their house?

Even police officers have had accidents with their children- I remember a few years ago in Bklyn.

My answer would be no. I also dread the day my SIL wants DD to sleep at her house- BIL hunts, big time, has a huge gun locker in their house. Their kids, 5 and 6, know how to shoot.

I just feel like little kids can find their way into anything. BIL and SIL are very responsible, I'm just very anxious.

Re: Would you let your kid play at a friends house knowing they have a gun in their house?

Re: Would you let your kid play at a friends house knowing they have a gun in their house?

nope, never

Re: Would you let your kid play at a friends house knowing they have a gun in their house?

Re: Would you let your kid play at a friends house knowing they have a gun in their house?

not a mom (yet) but this topic hits home for me - my DH and i are both law enforcement officers (not police officers) and we both have to carry guns for work. there is no place for us to leave those guns at work, so they come home with us every night.

we have a safe and my DH has a lock box that is kept high up out of reach in a closet and is chained up so it's not immediately portable. the guns go into the safe or lock box literally as soon as we walk in the door.

however, i am totally paranoid when it comes to guns - if i found out that my DC's friends parent's had a gun in the house i would definitely ask WHY and WHERE it was kept before allowing my child to spend time there.

there is no such thing as being too cautious when it comes to guns, police officer or not. if the parent of my child's friend asked, i would happily show them where our guns are kept and if they still were not comfortable coming to our house then that is THEIR decision.

Re: Would you let your kid play at a friends house knowing they have a gun in their house?

I would feel very uneasy about it but I wonder how would you know what's in every house your child goes to? Of course I would like to know but not sure that's possible.

Re: Would you let your kid play at a friends house knowing they have a gun in their house?

Yes, my DH is a cop and he does bring his gun home. He often leaves it at the precinct, but if he has criminal court he brings it home instead of detouring back. When it is at home, it is locked in a safe, which can only be opened by the combination and a key.

Re: Would you let your kid play at a friends house knowing they have a gun in their house?

This is something I have honestly NEVER thought about and I don't really have an answer for. Hmm ...

Re: Would you let your kid play at a friends house knowing they have a gun in their house?

A couple of people have answered flat out no, even if its a police officers house, which I find sad....so your kids cant play at a childs house if their parents are police officers? Does that mean that children wont come to my house because my DH is a cop?
My child would never play at someones house that I didnt know well enough to trust.
My father was a police officer and I never knew he even had a gun at home until he told me at some point in my 20's. It was always locked up in a back room in the basement, apparently.
My DH is also a police officer and we will have his gun locked up as well so that DD will not know about it.
Of course cops can have accidents in their houses too, but you can tell if someone is a "gun show-off"..like the poster that said the guy left the gun on the counter with company over...that is weird and the only purpose for that is to show it off.
Of course guns are dangerous. Im not a fan of having them for no reason or shooting for recreation, but I think it would be very sad to prevent children from playing at responsible police officers houses.(especially since I grew up around so many and never even saw a gun)

Re: Would you let your kid play at a friends house knowing they have a gun in their house?

Well my dh has a gun for work. HE rarely brings it home and locks it up unloaded when he does have it home.

My neighbor one day asked me about it and I told her the situation. I appreciated her asking rather than assuming it was too dangerous to allow her children to run through my house with my 4 yr old son. I would hate for him not to have friends over because his father is a cop.

On the other end of it, as my ds gets older, I will share the same concern. I will not allow him to go to anyone's house with a gun unless I know the parents well and feel they are trustworthy. I think I would definately ask how it is stored. That is fair, IMO. If I am not comfortable asking, then I will not allow him to visit.

We do the best we can to protect our children. Unfortunately we will not always know when someone has a gun or drugs in their home that might harm our children. I, personally, am going to try to get to know all of my son's friends parents...but that isn't always enough.

Re: Would you let your kid play at a friends house knowing they have a gun in their house?

Message edited 8/31/2008 11:51:19 PM.

Re: Would you let your kid play at a friends house knowing they have a gun in their house?

Yes I would...DH has a gun in the house and it is very secure...I would hate to think Kerri wouldn't have playmates because of that

Re: Would you let your kid play at a friends house knowing they have a gun in their house?

Yes. I grew up in a house with guns.

If I knew the parents and knew it was locked away, I have no problem with it at all.

Re: Would you let your kid play at a friends house knowing they have a gun in their house?

I will not allow my son to play at a home where the is a gun that I know about. A close family friend was 14 while at a friends house. The friends dad had the gun locked up. Son knew how to get it and fired it at my friends face, at close range. It is truly a miracle that he is alive.
So no, my son will not play at anyone (not even a PO house who has a gun) I find my child's safety is more important than hurting a parents feelings. They have a right to have one. And of course they will be many times I may not know, but I will sure ask.
To the PO wife that is sad for her children, don't be, there are many people who allow there children to come to you home. Or your can go there. They will never be lacking friends! There are just many different opinions.