# 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:** 13
**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, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-to-ask-guest-to-leave-their-guns-at-home/518226/241 "2009-11-21T21:34:52Z")
> [@Susanann](#): > > Third, my guns are nobody elses business. What you bring into someone’s home most certainly is their business. ---
**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, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-to-ask-guest-to-leave-their-guns-at-home/518226/242 "2009-11-21T21:35:30Z")
> [@Susanann](#): > > 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? Not wanting stuff in your house = obsessive dislike of stuff? I don’t want weed in my house, but I have no problem with people smoking it. Do I display an obsessive dislike of marijuana? ---
**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, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-to-ask-guest-to-leave-their-guns-at-home/518226/243 "2009-11-21T21:38:17Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > What you bring into someone’s home most certainly is their business. Too bad. Then quit asking me to come over. ---
**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, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-to-ask-guest-to-leave-their-guns-at-home/518226/244 "2009-11-21T21:40:31Z")
You said you wouldn’t tell them. How are they going to know to quit asking? ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2009, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-to-ask-guest-to-leave-their-guns-at-home/518226/245 "2009-11-21T21:53:08Z")
On top of offending others, you risk indecent assault and deviant sexual intercourse from Diogenes. Of course, people like that are why many carry the gun in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2009, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-to-ask-guest-to-leave-their-guns-at-home/518226/246 "2009-11-21T22:46:34Z")
In Argents scenario , they would take down the old lady and get a gun to boot. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2009, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-to-ask-guest-to-leave-their-guns-at-home/518226/247 "2009-11-21T22:59:37Z")
I guess I’ll flip the viewpoint around. You are the homeowner and you know that one of your invitees for Thanksgiving dinner routinely carries a gun. Regardless of your own personal feelings on guns, why do you care if he carries his gun in a concealed manner during dinner? Do you think he will pull out his pistol and kill everyone there? If so, why is he your friend? If not, what harm could possibly be caused by letting him carry? Why would you be uncomfortable? ---
**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, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-to-ask-guest-to-leave-their-guns-at-home/518226/248 "2009-11-21T23:08:06Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > If not, what harm could possibly be caused by letting him carry? Why would you be uncomfortable? Because some people are fearful of weapons, just as others are afraid of snakes, spiders, or dogs. Just because a fear is irrational, or at least, not directly applicable to the person or object that incites it, doesn’t mean that others should not be sensitive to it and (at least for friends and associates) make accommodations for it. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2009, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-to-ask-guest-to-leave-their-guns-at-home/518226/249 "2009-11-22T00:07:25Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > Because some people are fearful of weapons, just as others are afraid of snakes, spiders, or dogs. Just because a fear is irrational, or at least, not directly applicable to the person or object that incites it, doesn’t mean that others should not be sensitive to it and (at least for friends and associates) make accommodations for it. > > Stranger And to flip it again, because I have an irrational fear of weapons that won’t harm me, I should ask my guest to subject himself to his very rational fear of crime on his drive to my home for Thanksgiving? ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2009, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-to-ask-guest-to-leave-their-guns-at-home/518226/250 "2009-11-22T00:07:40Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > Okay, now _you’re_ just being an asshole. You know better. This is a Warning to knock off the direct personal insults outside the BBQ Pit. = = = That said, I’ve got to say, **Diogenes the Cynic** that your behavior is much more disruptive than necessary. Even **Argent Towers** ’s false dichotomy and **Susanann** ’s declarations of some sort of absolute right have been couched in civil language. I’m not sure why you feel the need to beat your chest in these sorts of threads, but if your macho schtick keeps luring other posters into overreacting, I am going to start regarding your behavior as the primary problem. Claims that you are going to beat a gun owner with his or her own weapon or that you will force it up the anal canal are just silly posturing, but the language is unnecessarily hostile. Ratchet it back. [/Moderating] ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2009, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-to-ask-guest-to-leave-their-guns-at-home/518226/251 "2009-11-22T00:09:31Z")
> [@ExTank](#): > > Ignore him, **Stranger.** Ignore him the same way you’d ignore a Neo-Nazi standing on a street corner spewing vile nonsense. I’m going to let the metaphor pass, this time, but don’t make a habit of this, either. [.Modding] ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2009, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-to-ask-guest-to-leave-their-guns-at-home/518226/252 "2009-11-22T00:15:39Z")
> [@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. I agree that the odds are low, and we all hope it never happens to us. However, the potential consequences could be terrible. I don’t know any person who carries a gun who is terrified to go to the corner store without it for fear of pissing his pants. These people make the informed choice to carry a gun to protect themselves and their families. I drove six miles home from campus today. The odds of me being in a serious traffic accident were very small. Yet I still drove a vehicle that was safety tested, equipped with air bags, and I intentionally wore my safety belt. I guess that makes me a pussy. ---
**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 22, 2009, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-to-ask-guest-to-leave-their-guns-at-home/518226/253 "2009-11-22T00:16:20Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > I’m going to let the metaphor pass, this time, but don’t make a habit of this, either. > > [.Modding] Seriously? So **Diogenes** can level threats, describe acts of violence he would perform, make clearly implied comparisons between posters and fascists, but if someone calls him out on it they’re on pins and needles? This is assinine and unfair moderation. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2009, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-to-ask-guest-to-leave-their-guns-at-home/518226/254 "2009-11-22T00:22:23Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > Seriously? So **Diogenes** can level threats, describe acts of violence he would perform, make clearly implied comparisons between posters and fascists, but if someone calls him out on it they’re on pins and needles? This is assinine and unfair moderation. > > Stranger **DtC** ’s silly rants were general in nature, not directed at specific posters. Your name calling was directed at a specific poster. Further discussion should be taken up in ATMB, not in this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Susanann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@Susanann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Susanann)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2009, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-to-ask-guest-to-leave-their-guns-at-home/518226/255 "2009-11-22T00:22:31Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > Do you think he will pull out his pistol and kill everyone there? If so, why is he your friend? Nevermind! I would not trust someone like that with a steak knife. If those are your friends, and if that is the kind of other people you are inviting for Thanksgiving, then count me out, you dont have to worry about me, because I am not coming. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2009, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-to-ask-guest-to-leave-their-guns-at-home/518226/256 "2009-11-22T00:25:52Z")
Let it go, Stranger. DtC is what he is; and what he is apparently has some official seal of approval. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2009, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-to-ask-guest-to-leave-their-guns-at-home/518226/257 "2009-11-22T00:36:56Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > Let it go, Stranger. DtC is what he is; and what he is apparently has some official seal of approval. +1 ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2009, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-to-ask-guest-to-leave-their-guns-at-home/518226/258 "2009-11-22T00:52:06Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > I guess I’ll flip the viewpoint around. You are the homeowner and you know that one of your invitees for Thanksgiving dinner routinely carries a gun. Regardless of your own personal feelings on guns, why do you care if he carries his gun in a concealed manner during dinner? Do you think he will pull out his pistol and kill everyone there? If so, why is he your friend? > > If not, what harm could possibly be caused by letting him carry? Why would you be uncomfortable? Because I do not want guns in my home. I also know several people that smoke pot and I don’t allow that in my home either. No I don’t know anyone that would pull out a pistol and kill everyone, but if they insisted on carrying a gun or other items I don’t want in my home then we probably wouldn’t stay friends. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2009, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-to-ask-guest-to-leave-their-guns-at-home/518226/259 "2009-11-22T01:24:09Z")
> [@Antinor01](#): > > Because I do not want guns in my home. I also know several people that smoke pot and I don’t allow that in my home either. No I don’t know anyone that would pull out a pistol and kill everyone, but if they insisted on carrying a gun or other items I don’t want in my home then we probably wouldn’t stay friends. It’s a poor analogy. Pot smoking is illegal and the second hand smoke can cause health problems and persistent smell. It could possibly cause you to fail a drug test, and your young children might ask about your friend’s smoking, and in an unfortunate circumstance the police could be dispatched and criminal charges filed for drug possession. Your friend that carries a gun does none of that. His gun is concealed in his waistband or under his jacket. Nobody at your house knows that he is carrying anything. His carrying of a pistol affects you or anyone else in your home in no way at all if you concede that he is not a maniac who will massacre your Thanksgiving party. You simply state that you “do not want guns in [your] home”. That doesn’t give any kind of rational reason for it. What will your friend’s concealed gun do to upset your holiday? ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2009, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-to-ask-guest-to-leave-their-guns-at-home/518226/260 "2009-11-22T01:32:31Z")
Skimming this thread, the argument of the pro-gun people seems to be that it’s perfectly reasonable for them to want to carry a gun all over in case of the small chance they will need it to defend themselves. On the other hand, they think it’s unreasonable for a homeowner to be nervous of the ( they claim ) small possibility that accident or misuse will result in a concealed weapon hurting or killing someone. They seem to be trying to have things both ways. Either worrying about such small chances makes sense, or it doesn’t; instead they switch their position according to which will let them justify carrying a gun. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-to-ask-guest-to-leave-their-guns-at-home/518226.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/okay-to-ask-guest-to-leave-their-guns-at-home/518226.md?page=14)