I grew up in the city. We don’t do guns in the ‘burbs. Guns are for the police. Guns kill people.
Jim grew up in the country. He had his own REAL gun at age 8. As a child, he was allowed to take his REAL gun and his REAL bullets out BY HIMSELF for hours at a time. So did all of his friends. Guns in the country are no big deal. They sit on the coffee table when you walk into a house. They kill the pesky groundhogs that ruin crops. They put down the poor housecat that got hit by a car. They are a source of general conversation and weekend activities.
As a token of my appreciating all that is Jim, it’s a [well known] fact that I gave him a gun as a wedding present. Something I never in a million years would have considered. And not just any gun, a really nice, really powerful, really expensive gun. He says it’s the one material thing he’d take with him if our house was burning down.
I've come to respect guns. Not like them, mind you, but appreciate them as a tool for recreation or protection. We have two handguns and about 3 rifles in the house right now.
Parents magazine had a big article on children’s safety and one of the topics was guns in the house. They suggest that before you let your child play at anyone’s house you should ask the parent if there are guns in the house. They do not advise whether the answer to this question should dictate your letting your child stay (I assume they let everyone make their own decision about this) but do suggest that if the answer is “yes, we do have guns in the house” there should be follow-up questions regarding the safety precautions being taken with them in relation to children.
I can buy into this concept. Though I'm sure this question never escaped either of my parents lips to any of the several dozen houses I played at, your child’s safety should always be a concern.
The odd thing is that if someone actually asked me this I’d be a little taken aback; I think it’s my roots of “guns are bad” that would put me on the defensive. Especially if, when I was honest with my “yes, we do have guns in the house” they elected not to let their children stay. I’d certainly explain that the guns are locked in a case and individually have their own trigger locks on them. I’d also confirm that bullets are not stored with the guns and that all firearm elements are kept out of the way and not in any areas children would be.
At the end of the day, I don’t see myself asking any parents about guns. It’s probably because of my own desire to not have someone ask me and judge me negatively. Especially as I don’t see us getting rid of them any time soon (ever).
About Me
- Karen
- Cincinnati native trying to juggle two kids, a successful marriage, a full time project management job and a part time teaching gig. Fortunately I love every component of my crazy life!
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Peeing on Trees and Other Nonsense11 years ago
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10 comments:
We have had to deal with this all of Cassie's childhood. Joe is ex-army and can not live without a gun. Like you we have several varieties including antiques.
Cassie at a young age I think it was 8 got her own little riffle. Before she could use it she had to learn all about it and Joe made her take a test and she had to be able to take it apart and put it all back together.
Joe then took her to places to shoot it. Safety was taught over and over and over and is now second nature to her.
I am afraid of the guns - Cassie and Joe have a respect for them.
I dont ask other parents if they have guns in the house because Cassie is so well trained in their safety that she would not touch one and if a friend did she would leave.
I DO tell children coming into our house that we do have guns and that if for any reason they should see one (we also have paint guns that look like guns) not to touch them and to let Cass or one of us know.
This has worked very well for us.
My dad had a shotgun in our house growing up. He would take it to a shooting range for fun with his buddies. I only ever saw it when he was leaving with it or coming back with it. Other then that I have no idea where it was kept and all that jazz.
I do not like guns. That being said, I think they can be kept safely in a house without children knowing about them or touching them, I am a prime example!
I have a rule: if I am going to live in a household with guns, I am going to know how to use them. I am going to know all the safety precautions, etc and make sure it is a safe environment for me and my family. I think the education would help me appreciate/respect/whatever them and not have a fear or judgement about them. Besides, guns don't kill people- PEOPLE kill people :D
My dad had 2 or 3 shotguns in our house when we were growing up and it was never a problem with us or any other kids. The reason for this is because my dad lost the key to the gun rack and therefore we could never open it!!! He also had the bullets lock in another case so if we could have gotten the guns we did not have access to the bullets.
Do you watch "how I met your mother"? the repeat that was on this week had Robin take Marshall to the shooting range. And that looks like fun! It really does.
But guns scare me - I wouldn't keep one w/in arms reach or within sight of me. The typical thing about people who are RAISED with guns and own one (or more) when young is they have a great respect for them, knowledge about them, and are usually extra cautious and get really mad when people don't acknowledge what can happen if not handled properly.
Honestly, I have no idea if we had a gun in our house when we were growing up. I'd think mom would forbid it, but they have so many lockable hiding places I wouldn't know if it was there or not.
I'm with Kathy. I grew up on a house where guns, including toy guns, were not allowed. We weren't even allowed to play with other kids whose parents let them play with toy guns. I think my mom was terrified of them, and I remember her severe critique of my father's brother when he got a handgun (this uncle is a dumbass, by the way, and should NOT have a gun as I'm sure he doesn't know how to use it properly, nor does he teach his kids about gun safety).
Even considering my mother's strong objections, I'd never really formed an opinion about guns until I met Trey, who grew up with them - he taught a rifle class to a bunch of kids at boy scout camp one summer, and he's from Texas, a state with liberal gun laws....and little gun violence. With education and safety training, guns don't have to be a bad thing.
Additional thought - in a city where there's a gun ban the law abiding citizens aren't going to carry guns, but the criminals are. In a city where citizens can carry concealed weapons with the proper permits, the criminals without the permits are going to be much more wary about whether or not to use theirs.
My dad had a shotgun, but never one did us kids know where it was. Again, gun and shots were never together.
Both Danny and I know how to shoot. His is military experience and mine is from working Boy Scout Camp (where I must boast that I hit the target and on point more times than my male counterparts). Handguns however I have no experience with, but respect them. We don't have any in the house. Just the good ol' fashion titanium baseball bat. :-D
Freakinomics says having a pool is maybe 5 times more dangerous than a gun.
Dave
I think Karen & I have come to a very good consensus on how we handle the gun situation.
I was raised with loaded guns in arms reach and intended on it being that way in my house when I was older. The addage around the house/town was "if the gun's not loaded, it does you no good in an emergency except to throw it at somebody". I will add, for those who understand this, we had revolvers and always kept the hammer resting on a dead cylinder so if the gun was dropped, it would not go off.
Upon meeting Karen, living in the city, and having Nicole, I can now see the other side of the coin which is an increased level of apprehension/caution around firearms, especially for those who are unfamiliar with them or too young to know better. That being said, I have no problem in appeasing Karen by separating the guns from the ammo and keeping the guns under lock.
While I don't go shooting near as much as when I was younger (many other things take up my time now), it is still a good time to go to Target World and uncork a couple of my hand cannons :) Dale can attest to that, as he's went with me.
This is so new to me! I never think about guns and I don't think that I know anyone who has one. Only one family who are hunters as a profession. That's it.
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