Do you allow your kids to arm themselves when home alone?

[Guest Aces&8s]

A 17 year old can be trusted with a car, but not a .22 rifle, i suppose. What is sad is that by the time I was 17, I had a .22lr, a .50 Cal muzzleloader, and a 20 gauge, and knew how to use them well. Today, my dad would have been locked up for child abuse...

Of course, by the time I was 17, I was hardly a child. Times certainly have changed.

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[S&WForty]

In addition to the question of a child's maturity is how firmly rooted is that maturity when it is subjected to the peer pressure of a friend?  A kid that would otherwise never touch a firearm on their own might be goaded into it by a pushy friend. 

 

I grew up around a loaded revolver, but was scared enough of it I never touched it.  As my mom requested, if I ever wanted to see it, ask her to show it to me.  She says once or twice I'd ask her to let me look at it.  One of her rules was never to tell anyone she had a gun.  No friends of mine knew about it. 

Edited December 23, 2012 by S&WForty

[QuietDan]

No. It is arguably illegal to do so under 39-17-1303 if the child is a minor.

 

I'm thinking Tennessee Code makes exception to prosecution in legitimate acts of self defense.

[Mike.357]

the post above is a great rule

[Jesse]

They are working on a new gun safe that only opens when it detects fear. So your family will only have access when needed.









J/k i guess if you are still second thinking your decision you shouldnt do it yet. Knives, bats , stun guns and pepper spray are still effictive.

[gregintenn]

If I can't trust my children with firearms, I haven't done my job as a father.

[gnmwilliams]

I had access to a 20 gauge and a .22 rifle after I passed the hunter safety course at 10. Was told to never tell friends we had them and If I was caught having touched them for anything other than a life or death situation I'd never get to shoot them again. However, I will say that every child is different. Something else we had in place, and something I plan to do here eventually, as a first line of defense was reinforced security doors for both entrances to the house. The previous owner of the house had apparently replaced everything with solid core doors and metal frames with dead bolts. I was only six when we bought it but I still remember the realtor demoing these features with good solid kicks to the doors. Just walked right up and bam! They didn't even flex. Of course this was a good selling point since it was in Memphis. :) Edited December 23, 2012 by gnmwilliams

[RED333]

If you are worried enough to think of letting them use a firearm when you are not there, take them with you.

That easy, I say no, and it is unlawful.

[Spots]

I had access to my first gun, a 20 ga and the shells for it when I was 8. I understood that I was to tell one of my parents before touching it unless it was life or death. By the time I was 17 in 2005, I had a loaded 38 special on the nightstand, my 20 ga. Loaded by the door, and the model 12 12 gauge loaded on the gun rack. It was very normally to grab a shotgun or rifle and take off into the woods fri. Afternoon before my parents got home from the time i was 15. But I was raised with respect for guns from birth, and I was very mature for my age.

[BigK]

I took the hunter safety course when I was around 11, but had already been hunting with dad for years. I had 2 shotguns of my own and by the time I was 12 or so, I carried one to granny and grandpa every other weekend to squirrel and rabbit hunt. By the time I was 14 or 15, my granny was so sick of squirrel, groundhog, rabbit, quail, and the like that she made the 'you killed, you cook it rule' and stuck to it.

Mine hung in my room on a wooden gun rack and there was at least a partial box of shells for each in my dresser. When I got my first tube fed pump action .22, I thought the world was mine and no critter worth eating would safe from my wrath.

Suffice it to say, my kids grew up around guns. Both know where the shotgun is, know that it's loaded, and know how to use it .... well. My oldest is 19 and in the Marines now and my youngest is 16. She knows her way around every gun I own, knows not to talk about them to friends, and knows the safety rules. I'd never forgive myself if I left her home alone with no way to protect herself. Edited December 23, 2012 by BigK

[RED333]

there is a belt fed set up in my den for anyone in the house to use

David I have my adoption papers ready to sign when you are ready for me to be your new son. :wave:

[Mark@Sea]

There was an incident where a twelve year old girl had to use a .22 rifle(all she had) to defend herself while on the
phone to 911, scared and didn't want to, but she did what she had to do, ultimately. I don't remember any more of
the details and wish I had a link to the story, but I think it even found its way on here.

You might be thinking of Kendra St Clair, who used her mothers' glock this October to shoot a man trying to get to her after breaking in to her house - but there are several other similiar incidents. The little girl in Arizona who used a 12 gauge on a pair of home intruders is one of my favorites. I'd include a link, but for some reason the system isn't giving me the option, and cut-n-pasting a mile long link is too unwieldy.

At any rate, if I had a pair of 17 year old twins, no - I wouldn't let them have access to my guns while I was gone. They could use their own.

[Guest Mad4rcn]

[quote name="gregintenn" post="866760" timestamp="1356236922"]If I can't trust my children with firearms, I haven't done my job as a father.[/quote] ^^^^ Bottom line !!

[tennessee01tacoma]

I was armed as a minor, my stepdad had to travel for work sometimes and we kept a 38 revolver loaded on top of a cabinet to where only people old enough to use it knew where it was he gave me the talk when I was about 12 or 13 and told me if anyone broke in and was hurting my mom or him to get the pistol put it in the intruders ribs and keep shooting till it was unloaded then call 911. From the time I was about 15 there was access to guns and ammo in my bedroom, and yet I never decided to go shoot up a school or kill my parents and siblings. Now I'm 24 and have my hcp and carry to protect myself and my wife and loved ones. I taught my wife how to shoot a pistol and offered to send her to get her permit, she said she feels safe with just me carrying. She doesn't have the mindset that would allow her to take someones life in self defense. Edited December 23, 2012 by tennessee01tacoma

[Dolomite_supafly]

My son, who is in the AIr Force now, started shooting at probably 5. We let him shoot whenever he wanted and starting at age 7 there were always guns around the house. Or at least he seen them every day. This took the novelty of the firearms away and to him they were no different than any other tool you might use or find laying around the house.

 

I think that is the key to a child being safe with a gun. If they see them as nothing special then they will show no more interest in them than anything else when you are not around. And starting about age 15 there where times when my wife and I had to leave the house for a day or two. During those times our son knew where the guns were and definitely knew how to use them. He never messed with them. And by age 17 he had a firearm "loaned" to him any time we had to leave the house for a day or two.

 

Our son has always be extremely mature and responsible so I had zero concerns with him being home alone. Especially with my crackhead brother running around trying to kill people.

 

In the end I think it is up to you to decide if your children should have access to the firearms for self defense. We have seen on a number of occassions where children have used firearms to defend themselves. I don't think there is a jury in the world who would convict the parent of a child who used a firearm to defend themselves.

 

He is not much of a gun person anymore and I think that is because I took the novelty of them away at such an early age.

 

Dolomite

[swim615]

I owned my own 20 gauge by 13.

My son owned his by 14.

My daughter by 16.

 

I grew up around hunting and firearms. They were just normal. Same with my children. So to answer your question yes.

[Motasyco]

I had my own rifle at 12 and hunted alone with it.  I still have it.  I encourage my kids to arm themselves at home.  Of course, the oldest is over 40 and the youngest is in the Army and they have their own homes.  I was shooting with one of my grandsons a few weeks ago.  He's 9 and has his own 22 and 410 that his dad got for him.  He's a pretty good shot.

[Jesse]

i would trust a daughter over a son when it comes to guns in the home.   girls tend to not want to touch a gun unless they have to. boys  love things like guns and want to hold and see them a lot when ever they can.    i would trust a 13 year old girl knowing where my gun was over a 17 year old boy.     put hidden cameras in your home and see who really plays with the guns

[Guest Mad4rcn]

Every household is different,just like every child is different. I have one child left in the house,he has the safe combo and knows what and when to use it. That being said, he knows that when people are in the house that don't live there,it's not show and tell time. Excluding his brother of course who comes home on leave for a few days at a time and that's the first thing they do is empty out the safe and take everything apart. Then run through about $700 in ammo and then tell me that we're getting low on this or that and I might want to pick some up...lol No one knows your children like you do,you'll make the right call .

[itchytriggerfinger]

In addition to the question of a child's maturity is how firmly rooted is that maturity when it is subjected to the peer pressure of a friend?  A kid that would otherwise never touch a firearm on their own might be goaded into it by a pushy friend. 

 

Yeah, a lady at our office got a bad call one day on that.  Her son is 16 and an accomplished trap shooter.  He has grown up around guns and also had .22 and shotguns readily available.  Well, one day, bored and home alone with some buddies, they though it would be cool to look at dad's .45 in the top dresser drawer.  Playing around acting like they were playing Call Of Duty or something, he manages to blast a hole through the TV.  Scared the bejesus out of both of them.  Luckily neither were hurt, and a big wake-up call for the parents.

[Links2k]

If you are worried enough to think of letting them use a firearm when you are not there, take them with you.
That easy, I say no, and it is unlawful.

It's not about being worried. Like must gun owners, it's about being proactive.

[Guest Nunya]

If they are too young to arm themselves, then they are too young to be left at home alone.

I was gonna say, "If they're old enough to stay home alone, they're old enough to be armed."

 

My kids (now 14 and 15 have access on the rare occasion that we leave them home alone).

[personDJ]

Obey the law

[101]

[quote name="Clod Stomper" post="866645" timestamp="1356231203"] *How do you know if they are mature enough? Ask an objective, and honest, friend if they think your kids are mature. I have friends who think their kids are just great and mature enough to handle a gun. I have observed evidence to the contrary. So sometimes parents can be biased (obviously).[/quote] So true!! I have said this before. Never,ever truly judge your children's behavior with your own eyes. Always judge your child's behavior by what others say about your kids behind your back.