Your opinion on someone bringing a gun into your house - Poll Vote

[CW&M Mom]

I was discussing this with my DH and Daughter and My 9 year old has decided that it's always okay to be packing the nerf gun

DH mentions it's an "18 shot"

[abond0017]

We have two guns in our house and I wouldn't be automatically scared for myself or any children in the house if another one was brought in. But I do have these stipulations. If it was someone I knew and trusted....I probably wouldn't bat an eye one bit. Someone I didn't know...I might ask them to leave it in the car. If they refused...they would be kicked out immediately.

But I'm from TX and have been used to guns the majority of my life. Although I don't necessarily think it makes sense if it's in the hands of a responsible person, I can see how some people can be so unsure of them. The only occurrence where I have been uncomfortable around a gun (or I guess more so the person with the gun) was when a co-worker of mine brought her fiance's new gun to work with her to show it to me since she knew I liked guns. Well, she wasn't that experienced of a gun handler (definitely no cc) and it was loaded...even one in the chamber. Even though I didn't expect it to be loaded considering the setting/situation, I still handled it as if it was of course and was surprised to discover it was. But what really got me was that she didn't even know there was one in the chamber until I told her. That is when it made me nervous. Especially with it being around and handled by others.

[JulieDB]

I once had a roommate who was a cop. Really! I didn't like the fact that he had a gun in the house but I know he had to have it for work.

Then he decided to move out. I had just had it with trying to find roommates so I decided to move out as well. I had a friend who was renting a four bedroom house and she needed a roommate so I moved in there.

Anyway... We were still not fully out of our old apartment but most of our stuff was out. Then I got a call from the police at work. Turns out that my cop roommate was asleep on the bare floor. He had moved his bed to the new place but we were still there for a couple of days to fully do the rest of the cleaning that needed to be done. The landlord's two teen sons entered our apartment using a key and without notifying us prior. Apparently my roommate slept with the gun next to him and he pulled it on them when they entered his bedroom! He didn't have a clue who they were. He had never seen the landlord or them.

I had actually never seen the kids before either but I think I would have figured it out because the landlord and his wife were Asian and I knew they had two kids and about what their ages were. AFAIK there were no other Asians living around in that area. Landlord didn't live there but in another city.

I don't really know why the boys were there. They told the police that they had come in to see how clean the place was and what would need to be done to rent the place. However their dad said (when he was finally located) that he had not given them permission to enter the apartment.

Anyway... The whole incident freaked me out. I guess if you are a cop your first instinct is to pull a gun on a suspected intruder. My roommate worked for another city so the local police did not know him. He did have a badge and uniform though, but perhaps the uniform was in his car where he often kept it. I guess the police called me about the two boys who had no ID on them. I can't remember all of the particulars now. This was many years ago. I just remember telling them that they were the probably the landlord's kids. And I remember that I didn't have to go home for anything. But the phone call at work created quite a stir.

Fast forward to when I was married. Husband had some kind of antique gun that he wanted to bring into the house. I refused to let him. Good thing because when we moved, the state we moved to didn't allow guns. I can't remember now which state that was. We have lived in several. Or at least that is what he told me.

But now? I will not allow a gun. No how. No way. A kid I knew in Jr. High blew his own eye out with a gun. It was an accident. Another kid shot and killed his little brother. Again, an accident. I don't need those kind of accidents.

[JrandMdB]

Granted I understand this is your home but it is legal to carry a gun. I have a concealed weapon permit and so does my husband and we carry them everywhere we go. Its my right to carry it where ever I chose, that is within the law. I understand your feelings but..

[3timesoccermom]

Are you saying you are within the law to carry your gun into someone's home whether they know and/or object or not?

People can restrict others from smoking, drinking and any thing else in their homes so I have a difficult time believing your right to carry a weapon extends to another's private space if you aren't law.

My Hubs is licensed to carry but he would never think his "right" would precede the homeowners'.

Granted I understand this is your home but it is legal to carry a gun. I have a concealed weapon permit and so does my husband and we carry them everywhere we go. Its my right to carry it where ever I chose, that is within the law. I understand your feelings but..

[Smee]

Granted I understand this is your home but it is legal to carry a gun. I have a concealed weapon permit and so does my husband and we carry them everywhere we go. Its my right to carry it where ever I chose, that is within the law. I understand your feelings but..

Just asking for clarification here, you think the right to carry precludes a homeowner's right to refuse a gun in their house? It doesn't work that way. If you really think you have the right to carry it anywhere you choose, try getting on a plane with a gun.

A homeowner absolutely has the right to deny entrance with a gun, or for any other reason (or no reason at all) such as possession of alcohol or tobacco, both of which are also legal to own and carry. If someone doesn't want you drinking, smoking, carrying a gun, or simply being in their house, they certainly have the right to disallow it.

[Smee]

Oh, snap! Or what Renee said.

[Smee]

Granted I understand this is your home but it is legal to carry a gun. I have a concealed weapon permit and so does my husband and we carry them everywhere we go. Its my right to carry it where ever I chose, that is within the law. I understand your feelings but..

The emphasized portion was puzzling to me. At first, it read as if taking it anywhere you want is within the law. I think you must have meant that you can take it anywhere the law allows. My point remains, though-- the law doesn't guarantee you the right to carry it into homes against the wishes of homeowners.

[kschick96]

I grew up with a father who worked in law enforcement and was a weapons expert who would teach new officers how to shoot at the academy. He was also a collector, so I grew up around guns. Fast forward to adulthood and I married an avid collector and hunter-so we have guns (always locked up). DH also has a concealed carry permit. So, as you have probably gathered, I am comfortable with guns and concealed and carry permits.

What I don't understand is why the guy felt it necessary to bring the gun to the BBQ. The chance of him needing to use it was so slim to none-that I feel the only reason he brought it was to show off. If I were you guys, I would have asked him to leave-not based on the gun, but his attitude about it. If he were truly educated about guns and concealed and carry, he would know there is a time and place for that and a small, close family and friends BBQ was not the place.

[Macaela25]

DH and I left early with our kids due to the guy's horrid attitude about the whole situation. My sister later told me that he's been banned from their home. kschick is right...he is a bully and uses it only to intimidate and feel important.

I'm glad that I will never have to deal with this idiot again, but my 5 year old is now frightened to discover that random people can have hidden guns anywhere he goes...he told me in the car this morning he was afraid of being shot. I told him I would never let that happen, but he has apparently realized my fallibility....his reply was, "But Mommy...there wouldn't be anything you could do." :(

This is exactly why I didn't want my kids exposed to guns.