I think that is a great idea, and it accomplishes all that you desire, if not even more.
Post a permanent sign in the front of your house visible from the sidewalk that
“NO GUNS OR WEAPONS OF ANY KIND ARE ALLOWED IN THIS HOUSE”
The sign would prevent any legal gun owner from coming in, and would make clear to everyone exactly how you felt. It would not be anything personal against any particular person, since the sign is there for anyone to see. The added benefit is that not only do you keep licensed gun owners or off-duty police from coming over for Thanksgiving, but it works all year round, and the sign would be there for both invited, and uninvited guests, so you won’t have to worry about a stranger with a CCW nor would you not have to worry about the plumber nor would you have to worry about the dishwasher repairman, etc. bringing in a gun either.
I am 100% in favor of you posting a sign in your front yard, and I can honestly tell you that it would keep me from coming into your house with my gun.
No Suzanne. We don’t need to post signs. We should however be considerate of our hosts.
I am a gun owner. I keep them safe and stowed. Most everyone I know owns a firearm. I also know that that there are some folks that are uncomfortable around them. Just like some people are uncomfortable around dogs, children or are afraid of heights. That’s the way it goes.
The SDMB has made me more and more pro gun. I never even thought about it much until I came across the rabid anti-gun folks. But now, because of a few ‘pro’ gun folks on this board such as you, I’m starting to understand why they are so anti-gun.
Keeping a gun in a car, particularly if it’s loaded, even when the car’s locked, imho, is not a wise idea, no matter where the location. Someone walking or driving by who takes a fancy to the gun could break into the car and get the gun. Moreover, any time a gun is stolen, it’s a threat to the owner and to society at large. There are many incidents in which somebody breaks into a house or car, steals the gun sitting there, and uses it in an asssault or an armed robbery against an innocent civilian/citizen. Not a good idea to bring a gun along anywhere. Leave the gun(s) at home, locked up, out of sight and unloaded.
Guns can be safely stowed and locked in a vehicle. Surely you wouldn’t suggest that the police leave their long guns back at the station. Handguns are even easier to store.
I don’t see the point of 10 pages of debate here, I really don’t.
If you don’t want guns in your house you don’t have to let them in. Also if you want to carry your gun everywhere you go you are free not to go to antigun houses.
is sort of an oxymoron, imho, JXJohns. First of all, if people want to break into houses or even cars, guns are about the first thing they look for. Secondly, you might want to find about about the laws regarding the carrying of firearms in your state, which vary from state to state, from what I understand. Thirdly, telling somebody to leave a handgun locked up safely at home is the most realistic and sensible thing to do, imho. It has nothing to do with police leaving their long guns back at the station.
I have a concealed carry permit and my brother in law is a Deputy Sheriff. To say I’m up on my local laws is an understatement. My point about the police keeping their guns locked up in their car was simply to state that there is a proper and safe way to store guns in a car. Cops do it every day. If it is safe and proper for them to do so, rather than leaving them at the station until they need them, it can be equally safe for non-leo types to do the same. As such, if a friend prefers that I not carry in their home, I have no problem going out the car and locking up my gun safe and secured.
Post a permanent sign in the front of your house visible from the sidewalk that
“NO GUNS OR WEAPONS OF ANY KIND ARE ALLOWED IN THIS HOUSE”
I didnt say we *“needed” * to post signs, but a sign is the quickest, easiest, simplist, nicest, clearest, least discriminating, and most effective way to accomplish what you want…immediately.
This discussion brings up the related question: Do you, as a concealed carrier, have a duty to inform the host that you will be carrying?
I would say you do. I would consider it pretty rude to bring a gun into my home without asking, even though I probably wouldn’t have a problem with the person having a gun in my home otherwise. I would also expect you to ask even if you knew beforehand that I’m pro-gun rights. In fact, I’d say it’s pretty much common courtesy to ask or inform the host before bringing anything unexpected into that person’s home, whether it’s guns, baseball bats, kids, dogs, or what have you. That’s just part of being a good guest.
As for safety issues, I would ask the concealed carrier to unload any rounds from the chamber before coming and to keep the magazine unloaded. This solution would allow him plenty of time for him to load his weapon if a situation arises while simultaneously preventing accidents. This would not seem unreasonable to me.
I think it’s perfectly reasonable to ask a guest not to bring a gun into your home. My mind can’t even grasp someone thinking that is unreasonable. If through some convoluted logic you think it is an unreasonable request you certainly wouldn’t be allowed in my house.
I have two friends who work armed security. They come over my place often to hang out with me or my roommate. Usually they will have their guns with them. My neighborhood while not a hive of scum and villainy it is a typical city neighborhood. They are allowed to and usually do take their guns in with them. Friend one carries a briefcase and locks the gun inside while he’s here and rarely drinks. Friend two is more of a party animal and carries his gun in a standard holster.
I’ve never felt reason to tell friend one to leave his gun in the car. If I had children over I might but I trust his judgment and he’ll take whatever action is needed to ensure safety. Friend two I’ve sent to his car on a few occasions to lock up his piece. Historically he has shown bad judgment and I really don’t need a drunk man with a gun in my home or a gun with easy access to others capable of getting the gun from the drunk man.
Considering how earlier in the thread you were stressing the importance of guns in protecting the safety of a home, I’m surprised you think it’s a good idea to post a sign announcing to any criminals who might be passing by that this house is weapon-free. Most other pro-gun folks are at least consistent in their beliefs.
*No, it isn’t. It both less convenient and less polite than just having a quiet word with the guest. It’s also unlikely to be as effective as speaking directly to the guest – many people simply do not pay much attention to signs, or decide that posted notices somehow do not apply to them.
Very few guns, if any, end up being used in self-defense. They’re more likely to be used in a homicide, and, all too often, a gun owner who hears a noise in the middle of the night ends up shooting a family member who’d merely wandered down to the kitchen for a drink of water or a midnight snack.
All too often, one reads/hears about a person who comes home, finds his/her spouse or lover in bed with the milkman or even their best friend, and shoots both miscreants in a fit of anger.
Moreover, the NRA slogan “Guns don’t kill, people do”, is baloney. Guns are a weapon of war, designed to kill another human being, and a person with a gun is far more likely to kill another human being during a heated argument, in a fit of passionate anger. While it’s true that a person who’s hellbent on murdering someone could conceivably beat, stab or strangle his/her victim to death, the chances of surviving and fully recovering from a stabbing, beating or attempted strangulation can be and are sometimes a little better, depending on the depth, intensity and area of the body that ends up being injured. On the other hand, a life is abruptly ended or irrevocably and adversely altered by the squeeze of the trigger and the crack of a pistol.
Contrary to what many people believe, most murders are crimes of passion, that occur in the home, during barroom brawls, and on street corners, among people who know each other and have some sort of ongoing vendetta between them, and not at the hands of strangers.
I think that debate is necessary, and healthy. If we want a truly democratic society, debate should take place. Right now, there’s not enough debate going on in our society, and that’s pretty scary, imho, because, when debate is suppressed, it’s a way down the road to fascism for any society, including the United States.