As you have noted, to succeed with prosecution you would have to establish that the gun owner was criminally negligent. I would feel comfortable asking a jury to decide if visiting your cabin only sporadically reached that threshold. I mean, ultimately, it’s fact specific. Did I hire a property manager to check on it every so often, and they never let me know that some stuff was missing? Is it in a remote area that has some small hunting season window, so it’s common for people to only be there for a short period of time? Did I lock the doors? There’s any number of facts that might impact the decision, but I really doubt that “your hunting cabin was burglarized” is going to result in a conviction.
Is it, though? If I keep a family heirloom in a safe deposit box, do I still need to call the bank periodically to make sure it’s still there? Do I need to visit it?
And what of hunting lodges and second homes? It is entirely normal to only make it to one during some narrow time of year - “vacation”.
It’s one thing to say that people should take reasonable measures to secure their firearms, but an absolute requirement to know their status at all times isn’t realistic.
Because when engaging someone in a debate it is advantageous to know the other participants personal opinions on the entirety of the issue. I’ve read enough of their posts here and in other threads to know where they stand.
I guess it’s good to know that so many pro-gun people are also mind-readers; hopefully that helps cut down on the errant deaths.
Really, tho, it seems like another play to keep the pro-gun side defining the terms so discussion can be shut down and things can stay the way they are.
@Babale 's discussion, and the counterpoints brings up an idea that relates to the actual OP. Open carry across the board would argue that we create some form of federal gun law that overrides state-level requirements and restrictions.
One of the reasons a number of people securely store firearms at a remote site is that transporting them, even for personal use, can be legally problematic. The recent case in NY state as a single example. And no, before anyone asks, I’m not talking about he nutjobs in the Rise of the Moors. But if you live primarily in one less permissive state, but have a hunting home in a permissive state, bringing weapons between them can get complicated.
Which is exactly how the antis want it. The more difficult, complicated, expensive, and risky it is for a law abiding citizen to own arms the happier the left is. This is why they hate firearm preemption laws in the states that have them. They prefer a confusing patch work of local and county laws in addition to state and federal laws making it tedious for a gun owner to confirm whether or not they are in compliance with the law if they do something as mundane as crossing the street. And if they can trap an otherwise law abiding citizen into a legal trick bag it’s even better than stopping a criminal with a gun because it means they have created another criminal who can no longer own one.
So…to ‘address its gun hypocrisy’ you want to force all Americans to have to carry a gun? And you don’t see the disconnect in this? You want to force something that is a choice on all Americans to expose THEIR hypocrisy?
That explosion sound you here is my irony detector going supernova…
I’m not sure I agree with you on the definition of “secure”. Or “safe”, as in safety. I don’t think an unmonitored remote building without visitors is secure and I wouldn’t consider anything in it safe, not even a safe.
Would you leave an heirloom in a safe in an unattended cabin for 6 months at a time? Or would you leave a car unattended for months on end in a secluded location? I wouldn’t. In both cases I’d be an idiot to do so. So would anyone who would leave a valuable or potential dangerous item unattended long term, even if locked up. Now if it had 24 hr monitoring (like a safe-deposit box in a bank, or a monitored garage) that would be different matter.
You goddamn right. Babale posted about not checking on something that’s secured in a safe. I want to know how often they expect someone to check on their guns regardless of if it’s at a cabin or in someones home. I want to know what time frame they’re thinking of so I can rip it to shreds! Some of you post ridiculous nonsense and then call unfair when you’re called out over the stupid shit you post.
I want to know how often I’m supposed to look after my guns. Every hour? Every day? Every week? Do I have to cancel vacations so I can babysit my safe?
Nobody is asking you to visit your cabin. But you DO need to know where your gun is so that you can promptly report it stolen if needed. Whether that’s accomplished by physically checking in on your gun, an alarm and camera system you regularly monitor, GPS trackers, leaving your gun in a safety deposit box*, or even realizing that owning your own gun is not practical for you to do in a safe and responsible manner and getting outfitted with one when you go on your yearly hunting trip instead. There are dozens of options.
*(as an aside, banks generally do not want to store your gun because of the potential liability issues. Guns are frequently on banks’ lists of items they don’t want you to leave in your box. But if we started requiring people to keep track of their firearms, I’m sure the free market would step in and businesses specifically for the safe storage of guns would arise).
Comparing a safety deposit box in a bank that’s guarded and staffed 24/7 to a hunting cabin that’s occupied a month out of the year is pretty disingenuous.
Right, and you should take steps to ensure your firearms are secure when you are or are not there. To do otherwise is to be an irresponsible gun owner.
Maybe if you stopped doing your best to convince me that there is no such thing as a responsible gun owner, I’d be more open to your side of the issue.
Ding ding ding! That’s exactly what is going on here.
This is just pure fantasy… I don’t even know what to tell you. I’m sorry that you leave in fear of the gun grabbing boogeyman living under your bed.
14 days seems like a reasonable (very generous in fact) amount of time for you to notify police of the theft of your firearm. How you accomplish that is up to you - nobody is saying you need to drive up to your cabin every day or even every month.
