Editorial from angry mom about concealed carry in her home

[Bayoutalker]

She may have some success with keeping guns out of her home but what about child molesters, rapists, thieves, etc.? Is she going to ask everyone coming in to her house if they are one of the above? Of course the ones guilty of those things will be honest and tell her "Yes". There is a much higher chance of one of those in her house causing harm than a legal gun owner.

[puma guy]

The author of this editorial is a mom who appropriately wants to shield her child(ren) from danger. What parent doesn't want to protect their children? She and her husband apparently view guns as dangerous, and therefore they want to keep guns out of their home (and away from their children). Following this desire, she has stumbled upon the legal conundrum between innate individual rights pertaining to self-defense and to property, and isn't comfortable/satisfied with the typical legal perspective that the right to defend oneself (including tools that support a defense of self) trumps the right to property, meaning that she has to actively inform people that their guns are not welcome in her home.

Unfortunately, this Mom Demanding Action isn't considering a more complete approach to firearms safety. There is a reasonable chance that her incomplete approach will never result in tragic consequences. Gun-proofing your home is fine (if that is your desire all things considered), but fails to reduce risks to your child -- and may even increase them in certain cases -- outside your home. The author points out that there are a lot of guns out there in the hands of citizens, and there is a good chance that their child will encounter a gun in some foray outside the home, such as at a friend's or relative's home or even some other public place (consider the gun used in a crime that is carelessly tossed away or hidden somewhere).

A better, more complete, approach is to gun-proof the child. Teach kids from the outset that they are not to rifle through other people's belongings. Teach them the Eddie Eagle Gunsafe rules -- Stop, Don't Touch, Run Away, Tell and Adult. Later, when age/maturity appropriate, teach them real gun safety because that child will ultimately become an adult a child might look to for support, direction and life lessons.

Nothing can reduce risks to zero where there is potential for danger. A proper approach to risk mitigation must consider the environment, and the environment of a child inevitably includes places outside the home. Therefore, risk mitigation should focus on the child's behavior and knowledge in addition to the environment inside the home.

Russ,
You have articulated a sound and logical argument to hers that an objective person would surely consider, but I would offer she would never consider any of what you point out. She has founded most of her argument on the foundation of her world being a safe and secure place that is threatened only by lawful gun owners, especially those who chose to CC. Her fears border on hysteria in colloquial terms* in my opinion.


*Hysteria, in its colloquial use, describes unmanageable emotional excesses

[The Annoyed Man]

Inasmuch as I don't like people like this writer, she has no fear of my carrying into her home. Neither does she have any fear of being admitted into mine.

[mr1337]

I would personally hand-deliver some gun-buster signs for her yard (plus some 30.06/07 if she's in Texas).

I bet you she wouldn't want them displayed, though, because then criminals would KNOW the occupants can't fight back against a gun or multiple assailants.

[chasfm11]

The sad part is that this woman's "ideas" are not limited to private individuals and spaces. I attended a candidate forum last night which covered all of the open seats for the Lewisville iSD. All the candidates were there. One of the questions from the audience asked how each of the candidates would respond to the next door Argyle ISD program which armed school staff,

Each and every one of the candidates could see and articulate dangers of having guns in the schools, of kids stealing them, of NDs with the permeating concern being that no teacher was capable of responding correctly under a duress situation. Not one of them mentioned the risks to the children in the currently unprotected schools.

I plan to write letters to each of candidates, suggesting that the ignorance of risks does not eliminate them but simply perpetuates the "how could this have happened" reaction afterward. I wish that I could say that their misguided thinking was limited to firearms in schools but they almost universally showed a disconnect from reality in other areas as well. The "if only saves one child" approach only applies to good people trying to do the right things. The vivid imaginations that can come up with all of the bad things good people might do totally ignore all of the real world bad things that can happen.

[WildBill]

Maybe I'm behind the times, but how many people hide a gun in a diaper bag? She won't have to worry, I have no plans to visit her "Gun Free" home. I just wonder who she will call if things go south? Will the responding LEO be asked to leave his gun in the car?

Now all of this makes sense!

A while back a friend was coming over for a visit and he came into the house carrying a diaper bag.
At the time I thought it was strange because he didn't have a child with him.

[WildBill]

Inasmuch as I don't like people like this writer, she has no fear of my carrying into her home. Neither does she have any fear of being admitted into mine.

[TangoX-ray]

Maybe I'm behind the times, but how many people hide a gun in a diaper bag? She won't have to worry, I have no plans to visit her "Gun Free" home. I just wonder who she will call if things go south? Will the responding LEO be asked to leave his gun in the car?

Now all of this makes sense!

A while back a friend was coming over for a visit and he came into the house carrying a diaper bag.
At the time I thought it was strange because he didn't have a child with him.

He's just prepared for the soiled britches at the sight of his gun.

[Chemist45]

Several years ago, James O'Keefe offered "Gun free zone" signs to multiple prominent journalists who were vocally anti-gun.
None took him up on it.
Maybe we could dig up one of his old signs for this woman.

Article here:
http://www.ammoland.com/2013/05/tell-th ... z436RE2Jen

[puma guy]

Maybe I'm behind the times, but how many people hide a gun in a diaper bag? She won't have to worry, I have no plans to visit her "Gun Free" home. I just wonder who she will call if things go south? Will the responding LEO be asked to leave his gun in the car?

Now all of this makes sense!

A while back a friend was coming over for a visit and he came into the house carrying a diaper bag.
At the time I thought it was strange because he didn't have a child with him.

I'm gonna check out getting one of those. It'll be my new tactical diaper bag - who's going to suspect?

[The Annoyed Man]

Several years ago, James O'Keefe offered "Gun free zone" signs to multiple prominent journalists who were vocally anti-gun.
None took him up on it.
Maybe we could dig up one of his old signs for this woman.

Article here:
http://www.ammoland.com/2013/05/tell-th ... z436RE2Jen