# Okay to ask guest to leave their guns at home? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [November 20, 2009, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-to-ask-guest-to-leave-their-guns-at-home/518226 "2009-11-20T00:08:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2009, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-to-ask-guest-to-leave-their-guns-at-home/518226/221 "2009-11-21T20:35:45Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > I’m more sad that you think it is. Nobody here has said they would go against the wishes of the homeowner. Except on Page 1. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2009, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-to-ask-guest-to-leave-their-guns-at-home/518226/222 "2009-11-21T20:37:32Z")
No, you can’t add guns to the list. You can add bringing guns into my home to the list. ---
**Author:** ![BrandonR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@BrandonR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrandonR)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2009, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-to-ask-guest-to-leave-their-guns-at-home/518226/223 "2009-11-21T20:40:44Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > So you’re saying they’re perpetually frightened pussies who are too a-skared to go to the SuperAmerica without a gun. > > I live in the real world. I’ve lived, and worked and scored weed in some very bad neighborhoods (including virtually lawless, 3rd world neighborhoods), and I’ve never felt the need to carry a gun, or go around pissing my pants with fear all the time. Man up, for God’s sake. Yeah, [all these people](http://www.thearmedcitizen.com/) who have successfully prevented violence or theft with their firearms should have just manned up! They were just pussies, right? Or how about all the people killed each year from gun-toting lunatics? I guess they weren’t pussies since they had no means of defending themselves. Your arguments are about as ridiculous as your badass persona you like to parade online. It’s not about fear, it’s about self defense. If you don’t understand that, there’s no point in debating with someone who doesn’t care about their life. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2009, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-to-ask-guest-to-leave-their-guns-at-home/518226/224 "2009-11-21T20:44:05Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Except on Page 1. Oh, you’re back for more. This time, when I ask you for a cite, try not to reply with “You’re a poopy head.” ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2009, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-to-ask-guest-to-leave-their-guns-at-home/518226/225 "2009-11-21T20:48:41Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Except on Page 1. Uh, I just reread (skimmed more like it) page 1, and the closest we have is **Argent** taking a position that leaving a firearm behind (as in leaving it in a vehicle) is negating the principle of concealed carry. **Argent** never said on page 1 that he’d go directly against the wishes of the home owner. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2009, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-to-ask-guest-to-leave-their-guns-at-home/518226/226 "2009-11-21T20:53:34Z")
> [@BrandonR](#): > > Yeah, [all these people](http://www.thearmedcitizen.com/) who have successfully prevented violence or theft with their firearms should have just manned up! They were just pussies, right? Or how about all the people killed each year from gun-toting lunatics? I guess they weren’t pussies since they had no means of defending themselves. Your arguments are about as ridiculous as your badass persona you like to parade online. > > It’s not about fear, it’s about self defense. If you don’t understand that, there’s no point in debating with someone who doesn’t care about their life. The odds of using a gun in self-defense are microscopic for most people, and just because an occasional pussy gets to use one doesn’t mean they’re not still pussies. If you’re afraid to go to McDonalds without a gun, you’re a pussy. Plain and simple. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2009, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-to-ask-guest-to-leave-their-guns-at-home/518226/227 "2009-11-21T20:56:26Z")
> [@ExTank](#): > > Uh, I just reread (skimmed more like it) page 1, and the closest we have is **Argent** taking a position that leaving a firearm behind (as in leaving it in a vehicle) is negating the principle of concealed carry. > > **Argent** never said on page 1 that he’d go directly against the wishes of the home owner. He kind of implied it, and whined about it. I do remember a previous thread on the same subject where more than one person was saying they would have no problem carrying a concealed weapon into someone else’s home without telling them. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2009, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-to-ask-guest-to-leave-their-guns-at-home/518226/228 "2009-11-21T20:58:58Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Plus, it’s going to be awfully hard for them to shoot me with their gun shoved up their ass. You’re such a _tough_ guy, MacManus. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2009, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-to-ask-guest-to-leave-their-guns-at-home/518226/229 "2009-11-21T20:59:26Z")
[QUOTE=Labrador Deceiver] Oh, you’re back for more. This time, when I ask you for a cite, try not to reply with “You’re a poopy head.” [/QUOTE] For the record, I didn’t call you a poopy head. I said it was presumptuous of you to speak for intelligent people. _You_ took that to mean you weren’t intelligent, and got pissy. What your own assumption says about you I leave to the reader to decide. In any case, you didn’t ask me for a cite about anything. You made another assumption about something I said and got pissy about that, too. However, since you ask: > [@Harry1945](#): > > I have trouble understanding why the question would even come up. If I’m carrying a gun, why would I feel you needed to know? It isn’t as if we’re going to have show and tell after dinner. > [@Harry1945](#): > > I’m sorry, but it _is_ “really that mystifying.” If I’m carrying a concealed weapon, for whatever justification, and anyone else winds up with it, then for several reasons, I’ve failed as a gun owner, and your guest. There is more than enough “Fail” to go around, especially if someone’s brains redocorate the bathroom wall, but I will say that not even my wife knows if I’m armed in any conceivable situation. Happy? ---
**Author:** ![BrandonR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@BrandonR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrandonR)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2009, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-to-ask-guest-to-leave-their-guns-at-home/518226/230 "2009-11-21T21:00:44Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > The odds of using a gun in self-defense are microscopic for most people, and just because an occasional pussy gets to use one doesn’t mean they’re not still pussies. If you’re afraid to go to McDonalds without a gun, you’re a pussy. Plain and simple. Given the outcome of being against the odds (death), I’d say those are odds I’d still rather play on the safe side. I’d rather carry a gun and never use it then never have one when I truly need it. But hey, I enjoy my life and would like it to last a while without ever concerning myself with criminals or whackos. What do I know? :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2009, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-to-ask-guest-to-leave-their-guns-at-home/518226/231 "2009-11-21T21:09:06Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > For the record, I didn’t call you a poopy head. I said it was presumptuous of you to speak for intelligent people. _You_ took that to mean you weren’t intelligent, and got pissy. What your own assumption says about you I leave to the reader to decide. Worst job of spinning I’ve ever seen. If one is being presumptuous, then they are excluded from the group they are speaking about. Your statement was a way of calling someone unintelligent, and the moderator agreed. If you disagree, take it up with the mod. > [@](#): > > However, since you ask: > Happy? No. Show me a quote where someone said they would go against the wishes of the homeowner. Neither of the ones you gave do so. ---
**Author:** ![Susanann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@Susanann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Susanann)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2009, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-to-ask-guest-to-leave-their-guns-at-home/518226/232 "2009-11-21T21:10:07Z")
I either would not go, or else I would go but not tell you. Those are the only 2 choices. (…and I dont want you to search thru my purse each time I come over, that is a very rude thing to do ) ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2009, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-to-ask-guest-to-leave-their-guns-at-home/518226/233 "2009-11-21T21:15:21Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Not in my own home it won’t. > > Plus, it’s going to be awfully hard for them to shoot me with their gun shoved up their ass. You know, the hole doesn’t get any easier to climb out of by digging out the bottom. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2009, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-to-ask-guest-to-leave-their-guns-at-home/518226/234 "2009-11-21T21:15:45Z")
> [@Susanann](#): > > I either would not go, or else I would go but not tell you. > > Those are the only 2 choices. Is your gun permanently attached? ---
**Author:** ![Susanann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@Susanann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Susanann)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2009, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-to-ask-guest-to-leave-their-guns-at-home/518226/235 "2009-11-21T21:16:51Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > So you’re saying they’re perpetually frightened pussies who are too a-skared to go to the SuperAmerica without a gun. > > I live in the real world. I’ve lived, and worked and scored weed in some very bad neighborhoods (including virtually lawless, 3rd world neighborhoods), and I’ve never felt the need to carry a gun, or go around pissing my pants with fear all the time. Man up, for God’s sake. I carry a gun, but I dont think it would even enter my head to be frightened. I cant even remember the last time I was ever frightened… if I ever was. It is really really hard for me to understand that other people get frightened…maybe on an intellectual hypothetical level, but I dont think I could ever “feel” frightened…or why I would ever want to feel that way. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2009, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-to-ask-guest-to-leave-their-guns-at-home/518226/236 "2009-11-21T21:20:00Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > Worst job of spinning I’ve ever seen. If one is being presumptuous, then they are excluded from the group they are speaking about. Your statement was a way of calling someone unintelligent, and the moderator agreed. If you disagree, take it up with the mod. If I, as a liberal, say that “liberals believe X”, I am being presumptuous. I’m not spinning anything; I’m simply pointing out that you interpreted my question in one of two possible ways. I don’t see why it matters if I take it up with you or **Rico** ; you were the first to respond. > [@](#): > > No. Show me a quote where someone said they would go against the wishes of the homeowner. Neither of the ones you gave do so. Well, conveniently enough: [QUOTE=Susanann] I either would not go, or else I would go but not tell you. Those are the only 2 choices. (…and I dont want you to search thru my purse each time I come over, that is a very rude thing to do ) [/QUOTE] Not that Harry’s quote wasn’t good enough to satisfy your request; several people interpreted it to mean he would ignore the wishes of the homeowner. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2009, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-to-ask-guest-to-leave-their-guns-at-home/518226/237 "2009-11-21T21:22:33Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Well, conveniently enough: > > Not that Harry’s quote wasn’t good enough to satisfy your request; several people interpreted it to mean he would ignore the wishes of the homeowner. Susanann’s post is the only one that satisfies my request, and it arrived after I made the statement. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2009, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-to-ask-guest-to-leave-their-guns-at-home/518226/238 "2009-11-21T21:26:35Z")
In the Old West, wasn’t it the custom for a town or establishment to have the prerogative to require visitors to check their weapons while there? I don’t see why it should be any different now. Slight hijack (funny story): In the Sixties, at the very beginning of the psychedelic rock era, the Charlatans went out from San Francisco to play a residency at The Red Dog Saloon in Virginia City, NV. The band embraced a quasi Victorian/Old West gunslinger affect as regards their clothing and visual style. In the time honored tradition I’ve alluded to above, the sheriff of the town walked into the bar as they were getting ready to go on, and offered, “Check my gun?” Whereupon one of the guys in the band took up the weapon, aimed it at the corner (as one is taught to do when handling guns), pulled the trigger, and handed it back saying, “Works fine, Sheriff!” ---
**Author:** ![Susanann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@Susanann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Susanann)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2009, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-to-ask-guest-to-leave-their-guns-at-home/518226/239 "2009-11-21T21:28:12Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > several people interpreted it to mean he would ignore the wishes of the homeowner. First of all, I dont personally know anybody who would ask me not to carry my gun. I grew up with guns, all my family has guns, all of our neighbors have guns, I dont really know what it is like for people not to have guns, I have no personal experience with people who dont own guns. Secondly, I dont think I could ever be friends with a person who obsessively doesnt like guns or for that matter does not like any other inanimate object in such an obsessive way. Obviously, such an obsessive person like that would never come to my house where we have guns prominently displayed on the wall and in gun cabinets, so why would I want to go to their house if they never come see me? Third, my guns are nobody elses business. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2009, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-to-ask-guest-to-leave-their-guns-at-home/518226/240 "2009-11-21T21:31:52Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Is your gun permanently attached? No, but she does stick to them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-to-ask-guest-to-leave-their-guns-at-home/518226.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-to-ask-guest-to-leave-their-guns-at-home/518226.md?page=13)