# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![Dev\_Null](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/46a35a/32.png) [@Dev\_Null](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dev_Null)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2001, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-the-right-to-know-if-your-neighbor-has-guns/71768/21 "2001-07-09T13:43:42Z")
“No, I don’t own any guns any more. It’s a condition of my parole.” ---
**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, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-the-right-to-know-if-your-neighbor-has-guns/71768/22 "2001-07-09T14:18:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jois \* > \*\* > > 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. > \*\* 20/20 (or one of the TV news magazines) ran a program on this a while ago. An amazing number of teenagers will point and pull the trigger on a gun, regardless of whether they’ve been given gun safety training. Regardless of whether the training is “walk away” or “check the chamber.” Guns are very tempting and not very real to the many of our teenagers. The program interviewed parents who all said “not my kid, they know not to touch a gun.” Then put teenager boys (I think they were all boys) in a room with an unloaded gun for them to find (and a survaillence camera). Guess what, almost all the groups found the gun, and they almost all pointed it at a friend and pulled the trigger without checking to see if it was loaded. If I have time, I’ll see if I can search this up for a cite. ---
**Author:** ![Demise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/34f0e0/32.png) [@Demise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Demise)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2001, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-the-right-to-know-if-your-neighbor-has-guns/71768/23 "2001-07-09T15:49:26Z")
I would have told her “yes” just so I wouldn’t have to worry about having such an annoying, nosey neighbor. Does she have a “right” to know? Hell no. I might have also told her: “You’ll find out if you try to break in.” ---
**Author:** ![Demise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/34f0e0/32.png) [@Demise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Demise)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2001, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-the-right-to-know-if-your-neighbor-has-guns/71768/24 "2001-07-09T15:56:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Dangerosa \* > **20/20 (or one of the TV news magazines) ran a program on this a while ago. An amazing number of teenagers will point and pull the trigger on a gun, regardless of whether they’ve been given gun safety training.** I call bullshit. How ridiculous. I’d be interested to know how many of the teenagers have actually ever handled a gun before these so-called “tests”. And what kind of “gun saftey training” are we talking about? Mom and Dad telling you that “guns are bad”? Training my ass. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2001, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-the-right-to-know-if-your-neighbor-has-guns/71768/25 "2001-07-09T16:36:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Dangerosa \* > \*\* > > 20/20 (or one of the TV news magazines) ran a program on this a while ago. An amazing number of teenagers will point and pull the trigger on a gun, regardless of whether they’ve been given gun safety training. Regardless of whether the training is “walk away” or “check the chamber.” Guns are very tempting and not very real to the many of our teenagers. \*\* I saw part of that show. If I recall correctly they used young children not teenagers. Marc ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2001, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-the-right-to-know-if-your-neighbor-has-guns/71768/26 "2001-07-09T17:12:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by kaylasdad99 \* > \*\*Didn’t anybody ever see _Red Dawn_? \*\* AAAAUUUUGGGGHHHH! Somebody help me get all this coffee out of my keyboard! If I pee my pants from laughing this hard, I’ll… 😃 I’m not being snarky, that was the first thing I thought of too! I am often at a loss about how to deal with wankers like that “potential neighbor.” I want to pop off with something incredibly witty that will have them scratching their heads for a month, before they die of shame, but it doesn’t happen that way very often. Usually it’s more of a “what the hell…” stammer followed by a mumbled brush-off. I don’t mind the idea of gun registration, actually (_Red Dawn_ aside). I know my dad’s guns aren’t registered, but that’s because they’re old (late 60’s/early 70’s) and he never got around to it. Well, ok, he never bothered, and still doesn’t feel it’s important. He actually bought his .357 Magnum through the CA Highway Patrol (or their primary suppliers, can’t remember which) because my then-uncle was a CHP officer. I’ll bet back then, they didn’t even check his ID! I wish I could have said something cute to this bitch, but I would have had to tell her “just a second, I’ll be right back” and run to my computer to ask you guys for something! No right to know, undecided on the “right” to ask. Although I suppose everyone has the right to be rude. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![BF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5ac83/32.png) [@BF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BF)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2001, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-the-right-to-know-if-your-neighbor-has-guns/71768/27 "2001-07-09T17:31:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by MGibson \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by Dangerosa \* > > \*\* > > > > 20/20 (or one of the TV news magazines) ran a program on this a while ago. An amazing number of teenagers will point and pull the trigger on a gun, regardless of whether they’ve been given gun safety training. Regardless of whether the training is “walk away” or “check the chamber.” Guns are very tempting and not very real to the many of our teenagers. > > \*\* > > I saw part of that show. If I recall correctly they used young children not teenagers. > > Marc > > \*\* Correct. The children were 5 and 6 years old. The gun was placed in the middle of a table in a playroom full of toys. I thought it was a perfect example of the media’s unbiased and even-handed issue of firearms… BWAhahahahah… hee-hee, haw-haw, hee-he… {{cough, cough}} Ah-hem. Sorry 'bout that. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2001, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-the-right-to-know-if-your-neighbor-has-guns/71768/28 "2001-07-09T17:45:46Z")
She does have the right to ask. But Joe is under no obligation to answer. She does **not** have a ‘right to know’. She’s being nosy and that can be rewarding from time to time. It’s the same instincts that lead to me asking my board of directors to CC me on the budget stuff: it works. Of course, in the vein of smart ass answers, he could have tried, “Just in the cache buried out back. Wanna go look?” ---
**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, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-the-right-to-know-if-your-neighbor-has-guns/71768/29 "2001-07-09T22:54:58Z")
> [@](#): > > Welcome to Canada. You have to register your car, and your gun. I assume, then, that in Canada, you are also allowed to _use_ your guns in public, just like a car? ---
**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, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-the-right-to-know-if-your-neighbor-has-guns/71768/30 "2001-07-09T23:16:09Z")
**SPOOFE:** Huh??? Are you saying that because two different things both have to be registered, therefore all the regulations governing them should be the same? Didn’t we all just get a bellyfull of the ridiculousness of that argument over on the “How much gun control” thread? ---
**Author:** ![Palouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/67e7ee/32.png) [@Palouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palouse)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2001, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-the-right-to-know-if-your-neighbor-has-guns/71768/31 "2001-07-09T23:22:27Z")
Well, I live in N. Idaho (no, I’m not a neo-Nazi) and if that woman was considering moving here she’d have to knock on a LOT of doors before she found a home that DIDN’T own firearms. I have two children, 8 and 10, and most, if not all, of their friends have guns in their homes. So what do we do when the kids go over to play? First off, we make sure we know the parents; there are many other things to be concerned about when your child is visiting another home than the presence or absence of guns. Second, our children have had gun safety training. They know that guns aren’t toys because they’ve had it drilled into them by mom and dad since they were old enough to talk. They have both handled and shot guns (.22’s) under close adult supervision. They’ve seen with their own eyes what a bullet can do to a can of soda and a grapefruit. Etc…etc… The point is: ignorance is not bliss when it comes to firearms. They are so prevalent in this country that it’s impossible to imagine that at some point in their young lives our children won’t encounter a loaded and unsecured gun. Knowing how to react when that happens might be a life and death decision. I’m confident that my kids, having been frequently exposed to guns, will feel no curiosity or temptation to pick it up and play with it. But a child who’s only exposure has been via TV cop shows…what do you think he’ll do? Sorry, I didn’t mean to wander off the topic and get on my soapbox but stuff like this wacky woman pulled off is something I seem to hear about on a daily basis. And frankly I’m getting a little tired of it. ---
**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, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-the-right-to-know-if-your-neighbor-has-guns/71768/32 "2001-07-09T23:27:10Z")
> [@](#): > > Are you saying that because two different things both have to be registered, therefore all the regulations governing them should be the same? I said nothing of the sort. I asked Barbarian for clarification on his comparison between cars and guns. I’ll thank you to not put words into my mouth. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2001, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-the-right-to-know-if-your-neighbor-has-guns/71768/33 "2001-07-09T23:27:11Z")
Clearly, the neighborly thing to do is to offer to put a **Gun-Free Household! Occupants Are Unarmed!** sign on her lawn so that the whole neighborhood will know how safe she is. ---
**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, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-the-right-to-know-if-your-neighbor-has-guns/71768/34 "2001-07-09T23:36:18Z")
**SPOOFE:** _I asked Barbarian for clarification on his comparison between cars and guns._ What comparison? He simply said that in Canada, you have to register both of them. You’re the one who assumed that therefore, the regulations governing their use in public would be comparable. ---
**Author:** ![capacitor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e47774/32.png) [@capacitor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capacitor)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2001, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-the-right-to-know-if-your-neighbor-has-guns/71768/35 "2001-07-10T00:39:29Z")
No, but she does have the right to know what are those popping sounds, that she hears from the neightbor’s house every night, coming from. ---
**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 10, 2001, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-the-right-to-know-if-your-neighbor-has-guns/71768/36 "2001-07-10T01:00:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by capacitor \* > \*\*No, but she does have the right to know what are those popping sounds, that she hears from the neightbor’s house every night, coming from. \*\* No she doesn’t. I’ll feed my bubble wrap habit all I want, and it’s none of my neighbors bees wax!😛 ---
**Author:** ![A\_Friend\_of\_the\_Devil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f0a364/32.png) [@A\_Friend\_of\_the\_Devil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A_Friend_of_the_Devil)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2001, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-the-right-to-know-if-your-neighbor-has-guns/71768/37 "2001-07-10T04:41:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by tracer \* > \*\*Yeah, but she’d figure out you were making that up really quickly. **No one** uses a 14-gauge shotgun. \*\* A very small quibble, Tracer, on a technicality. 14 gauge shotguns do exist, although probably not in very big numbers anymore. My collection of cartridges includes 4, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 20, 24, 28 and 32 gauge shotshells. ---
**Author:** ![A\_Friend\_of\_the\_Devil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f0a364/32.png) [@A\_Friend\_of\_the\_Devil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A_Friend_of_the_Devil)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2001, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-the-right-to-know-if-your-neighbor-has-guns/71768/38 "2001-07-10T04:50:47Z")
Two observations: I own a number of firearms of various types. I don’t necessarily publicize this fact however, since I have no great wish to make my home a target of some burglar who wishes to rip me off. My firearms are safely stored, but anyone with enough determination and time can get through to them. To comment on the 20/20 story (or whatever other so-called newsmagazine ran it): I recently had a basement flood. During the week or so that it took for us to clean it up, I had my firearms out and laid across my workbench. My kids were told DON’T TOUCH THE GUNS - a message I have imparted to them before - and they never went near them. I take gun safety and education seriously, and taught my children that these are not playthings or toys, and they are not to touch or handle unless I am there and I give them permission. ---
**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 10, 2001, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-the-right-to-know-if-your-neighbor-has-guns/71768/39 "2001-07-10T05:08:56Z")
SPOOFE wrote: > [@](#): > > Or, at the very least, put a huge “I Love Charleton Heston!” poster in his front yard. No no no, he should put up a [Gun Owners of America](http://www.gunowners.org) poster in his front yard, and tell her he doesn’t hang around with those wimpy namby-pambies in the NRA any more. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2001, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-the-right-to-know-if-your-neighbor-has-guns/71768/40 "2001-07-10T05:25:40Z")
So **Dangerosa** , which was it? Teenagers or 5-6 year olds? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-the-right-to-know-if-your-neighbor-has-guns/71768.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-the-right-to-know-if-your-neighbor-has-guns/71768.md?page=3)