# Do you have the right to know if your neighbor has guns? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 9, 2001, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-the-right-to-know-if-your-neighbor-has-guns/71768 "2001-07-09T02:58:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2001, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-the-right-to-know-if-your-neighbor-has-guns/71768/1 "2001-07-09T02:58:28Z")
My brother told me about this guy he works with, we’ll call him Joe. “Joe” lives in a quiet middle class neighborhood. One day last week a woman knocked on his door and introduced herself. Her & her husband were thinking of making a bid on a home that was for sale 2 houses down, and wanted to ask him about how the neighborhood was, etc. He told her it was a peaceful area, with no problems at all. Then she asked him if he owned any guns. This confused Joe. and when he asked why she needed to know, I guess she kind of laid into him. “I have kids, and I have the right to know if my neighbor has any guns!”. Joe then calmly told her that his kids were grown, so the chance of her kids playing at his house were ziltch. I guess she really got pissy that he wouldn’t come right out and tell her if he had any guns, and she kept insisting that it was her right to know. Joe then told her that his phone was ringing, and he closed the door on her. My brother said this Joe is a very mellow guy, and this howling of this woman really upset him. And the fact is, Joe doesn’t own any guns. But is that his neighbors business? Do you have a right to know if your neighbor has guns in his house? I’m not talking about if your kids are going to be there to play or be babysat, I mean in general, does one have a right to know? I say hell no. I would have had a field day if this woman had come to my door! What do you say? If you say she has a right to know, I want to know why. ---
**Author:** ![bare](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bare/32/471_2.png) [@bare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bare)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2001, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-the-right-to-know-if-your-neighbor-has-guns/71768/2 "2001-07-09T03:48:33Z")
My response would have been to tell her you’ll have to get back to her, close the door, and make up an enormous list of personal and nosy questions. Do you keep alcohol in your house? Do you make a lot of noise when you are intimate with your SO? Do you own a gas BBQ? You get the drift. Tell her if she answers all your questions, you’ll answer hers. NUNAYERBUSINESS! ---
**Author:** ![Zenster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/cdc98d/32.png) [@Zenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenster)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2001, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-the-right-to-know-if-your-neighbor-has-guns/71768/3 "2001-07-09T04:10:59Z")
Nope. ---
**Author:** ![Monster104](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Monster104](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monster104)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2001, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-the-right-to-know-if-your-neighbor-has-guns/71768/4 "2001-07-09T04:19:05Z")
If a neighbor has the right to know if I own any guns, then like **bare** said, I have the right to know any personal detail about the inquiring neighbors’ lives. ---
**Author:** ![Sultan\_Kinkari](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7bcc69/32.png) [@Sultan\_Kinkari](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sultan_Kinkari)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2001, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-the-right-to-know-if-your-neighbor-has-guns/71768/5 "2001-07-09T04:46:52Z")
I’d say, “Sure, about twenty of them. In fact, I’m a gun dealer. Yeah…we like to keep most of them locked away in a cabinet in the den. I also have a nice Glock I sleep with in an ankle holster. Then there’s the AK behind the couch. Whoops, almost forgot the 14 gauge Jimmy likes to keep under his bed.” Catch my drift? ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2001, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-the-right-to-know-if-your-neighbor-has-guns/71768/6 "2001-07-09T05:08:22Z")
Yeah, but she’d figure out you were making that up really quickly. **No one** uses a 14-gauge shotgun. ---
**Author:** ![Sultan\_Kinkari](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7bcc69/32.png) [@Sultan\_Kinkari](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sultan_Kinkari)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2001, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-the-right-to-know-if-your-neighbor-has-guns/71768/7 "2001-07-09T05:15:02Z")
Then tell her it was a 12… :rolleyes: I’d tell her the truth. I own a 30-30 Winchester which, I am sure, is easily the biggest gun on my block. And I’m not even an NRA “right to bear arms blah blah blah” gun nut. I just inherited a gun and havn’t ever gotten rid of it. I would even like to own a semi-automatic hand gun at some point. ---
**Author:** ![Osip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4491bb/32.png) [@Osip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Osip)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2001, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-the-right-to-know-if-your-neighbor-has-guns/71768/8 "2001-07-09T06:14:14Z")
No she has no right to know. I bet, if someone moved into her neighbourhood and knocked on her door when hubby is home and asked her the saem thing she would **really** go nuts. exspecially if they dressed down for the “interview” of the neighbourhood. Osip ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2001, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-the-right-to-know-if-your-neighbor-has-guns/71768/9 "2001-07-09T07:22:52Z")
No, she doesn’t have a right to know. She merely has a right to _ask_. I would have said, “That’s for me to know, and for you to find out.” ---
**Author:** ![Mofo\_Rising](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Mofo\_Rising](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mofo_Rising)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2001, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-the-right-to-know-if-your-neighbor-has-guns/71768/10 "2001-07-09T07:27:08Z")
Well, that’s obviously the sort of woman you wouldn’t want living next to you, so lie as much as you can. “Damn straight! Hey, can I sign you up for the next William Tell tournament?” On the other hand, I can see her wanting to know whether or not her neighbors carried guns, at least for her kid’s sake. If I was going to let my kid spend time at another kid’s house, I would like to know if his parent’s had guns in the household. A knee-jerk parent’s reaction, but sure it would be a consideration. But I also wouldn’t send my kid over to another family’s house without getting to know them first. I imagine that the safety precautions in the household would come up in one form or another. But for the **right** to know whether or not a neighbor had a gun in their house, ridiculous. Doubly so if my kid had no reason to show up there. I’ve got a deadly sharp katana in my house, should I be forced to tell people about that? Hell if this were a nationally enforced policy, it would be very easy for robbers to look up who and who didn’t have guns in a certain neighborhood and plan their robberies accordingly. By the way, I’m a 22 year old college and student and most of this conversation is irrelevant to me. ---
**Author:** ![Drastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Drastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drastic)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2001, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-the-right-to-know-if-your-neighbor-has-guns/71768/11 "2001-07-09T07:28:18Z")
> [@](#): > > Yeah, but she’d figure out you were making that up really quickly. No one uses a 14-gauge shotgun. Well, if she actually knew guns, she’d figure that out. But if she got hysterical about the possibility of neighbors (gasp!) owning them, I wouldn’t be surprised if all she “knows” about them is that they’re scary. If she does move in to the neighborhood, Joe should have a cake custom made in the shape of a big pistol to welcome her. ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2001, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-the-right-to-know-if-your-neighbor-has-guns/71768/12 "2001-07-09T07:43:15Z")
> [@](#): > > If she does move in to the neighborhood, Joe should have a cake custom made in the shape of a big pistol to welcome her. Or, at the very least, put a huge “I Love Charleton Heston!” poster in his front yard. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2001, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-the-right-to-know-if-your-neighbor-has-guns/71768/13 "2001-07-09T07:57:18Z")
Don’tcha see? This so-called “prospective neighbor” and her “husband” are really out scouting America to try to find a neighborhood where nobody has a gun, SO THAT THE COMMIES CAN TAKE IT OVER!!! Sheesh. Didn’t anybody ever see _Red Dawn_? ---
**Author:** ![Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2001, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-the-right-to-know-if-your-neighbor-has-guns/71768/14 "2001-07-09T08:02:05Z")
yes Welcome to Canada. You have to register your car, and your gun. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2001, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-the-right-to-know-if-your-neighbor-has-guns/71768/15 "2001-07-09T13:00:50Z")
She certainly has the right to ask, she does not have - as she claims - the right to know. Given that he doesn’t have kids at home, that would have been a good enough answer for me. If she is looking for a neighborhood where all the neighbors answer “oh, no, no guns in this house, they frighten us,” she might have to move out of the country. He has the right to say, “sorry, none of your business.” Mofo, sometimes you don’t know what houses your kids go into, and don’t really know the parents. My kids are little and they only go next door. But as they get older (10 or 12), they will roam the neighborhood much farther than I ever have the chance to, and follow kids they know from school into their houses. I don’t want to be a paranoid mom (I’d only ask the gun question of a parent hosting a sleepover - or a household where my kids spend a lot of time), but it is impossible to know all your kids’ friends’ parents well enough to know if they have a gun, and if they gun is kept safely - unless you are one of those parents who strictly controls their kids and their kid’s social lives (I’m not). I can ask that my kids don’t follow their friends inside, but I can already see that rule wouldn’t always be followed (and shouldn’t - sometimes you need to borrow the bathroom). And, trust me, saftey precautions in the house don’t come up casually…“Do you work outside the home? Do you have problems getting your kids to eat vegetables? Do you cover your outlets? Do you keep your ammo stored seperately from your guns and both under lock and key, with the key someplace your kids do not have access - like your keychain?” Hard casual conversation. If you feel you need to know, you are going to have to ask, and - given that kids will become fast friends in about ten minutes and it takes adults a little longer to establish a rapport, you might need to ask some rather pointed questions of someone you aren’t very comfortable with yet. There are three options: 1. Ask. Your neighbor may think you are a busy body, but you will feel better, and then you can always explain to your kids that they can’t sleep over at Tommy’s because his dad doesn’t store his guns safely. 2. Don’t ask. Trust that your neighbors are responsible gun owners (if they have guns), that their kids are gun saftey trained, and that any other kids in their house are gun saftey trained. With the number of gun owners I know who think keeping a loaded pistol in the dresser drawer in case someone breaks in during the night, I’m not that willing to trust. (They can do this, I just really don’t want my kids playing in their house). 3. Don’t let your kids visit other houses without you present. Of course, eventually they will become adults and have to make their way in the world - probably resenting you for being a controlling parent - but hey, they probably didn’t get shot. oh and 4) Make a pest of yourself like this woman did, for no good reason, and annoy your neighbors before you even move in. ---
**Author:** ![Jois](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ea666f/32.png) [@Jois](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jois)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2001, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-the-right-to-know-if-your-neighbor-has-guns/71768/16 "2001-07-09T13:24:51Z")
Mofo said:“But I also wouldn’t send my kid over to another family’s house without getting to know them first. I imagine that the safety precautions in the household would come up in one form or another.” And Dangerosa also says the same (more or less) there are just too many accidents about poorly stored guns to not make these inquiries. Especially for the younger kids. Maybe you won’t be able to gather this knowledge for the teenagers but by then you should have been able to teach them that they must walk away when they see a firearm in a home or party or gathering of kids. One of my neighbor’s cars failed at the end of her late shift job about an hour from home. Her huband was asleep and she wanted me to go next door and wake him (we have keys to each others’ houses for emergencies) but I thought I knock and ring the bell for a while first. I managed to waken the household across the street instead of the the husband. The guy across the street (GATS) wouldn’t enter the house or allow me to do so until we had called the woman again to ask if they had a gun in the house. I realized that GATS was right and we continued on very carefully on the basis of her answer. So the nearly neighbor in the OP should be concerned but without children or some other need to know she’ seems a little frightening herself. Jois ---
**Author:** ![Astroboy14](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/df705f/32.png) [@Astroboy14](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Astroboy14)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2001, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-the-right-to-know-if-your-neighbor-has-guns/71768/17 "2001-07-09T13:30:33Z")
No, she had NO right to ask. However, a humorous answer might have been to whip out a .45 pistol and ask, “You with the FBI? The AFT???” It might help if you could make your right eye twitch as you asked this… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2001, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-the-right-to-know-if-your-neighbor-has-guns/71768/18 "2001-07-09T13:32:46Z")
Nope. Mind you, I agree with **Barb** 😉 that guns ought to be registered, but that does not equate to individuals having the right to know what kind of firepower their neighbors (much less potential neighbors) are packing. On the other hand, if she actually **were** your neighbor and her kids were coming over to play with your kids (which I know isn’t relevant to the OP’s case), I think that you’d have a responsibility to reassure her about safety. That doesn’t mean that you have to tell her what you own, though: a plain statement along the lines of “There are no guns or ammunition accessible to a kid on our property” is sufficient. (And you’d better make sure it’s true, too.) If she can’t trust you to that extent, she’d be better off not letting her kids play at your house. So how do you find out whether there are lots of guns in a neighborhood you’re considering moving into? “Joe”'s visitor’s method is, as lots of people have pointed out, pretty rude and stupid, as well as not being very effective. I suppose you could visit the local police station and ask them general questions about crime and so forth; my approach, however, would be to snoop out the talkative neighborhood busybody and strike up an acquaintance with him or her. I’d find out **everything** I needed to know about the neighborhood that way. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2001, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-the-right-to-know-if-your-neighbor-has-guns/71768/19 "2001-07-09T13:34:32Z")
Why not just shoot first, and see if they return fire? ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2001, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-the-right-to-know-if-your-neighbor-has-guns/71768/20 "2001-07-09T13:36:32Z")
“Nope, no guns. Just knives, and hammers, and power tools, and lots of toxic chemicals. Oh, and did I mention knives?Have a nice day!” _slam_ [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-the-right-to-know-if-your-neighbor-has-guns/71768.md?page=2)