OT A gun in the house

[TPM]

Just a couple of comments. While the "castle" doctrine does remove any criminal liability if you shoot an intruder it does nothing to protect you from any civil action against you by the dead intruder's family. More often than not these days though a home owner may think he's free and clear because the law says what he did was okay but he soon finds himself slapped with a million dollar wrongful death law suit because the family of the dead crackhead who broke into his house and compromised his family's safety was "troubled and misguided but was on the verge of turning his life around and becoming a productive member of society" It's not as easy as putting your gun back in the drawer and cleaning the blood stains off the wall.

Best decision I ever made for their and my well-being, safety and participation in the sport. They still NEVER go to the Gun Closet without asking, never pick up a firearm at home or anywhere else unless at the range with me and generally have a great respect for them.

I'm sure if my father was still alive he would echo those sentiments exactly. I was trained in safe gun handling from age 7, was taught safety and marksmanship formally and by age 15 had a wall full of ribbons, plaques and other shooting awards (I still have some newspaper clippings from back then). My parents were proud and had no problem leaving un-secured guns around the house. What my father never knew is that when I was around 12 years old I shot a hole in my bedroom wall. It's a long story but suffice it to say that at that age friends are far more influencial when it comes to making stupid decisions than parents, or any adult for that matter, are. While training, teaching and involving your kids is awesome never say "never".

[awshucks]

I am sorry to here our neighbors can not defend them selves in there house.
Maybe if something happens to someone (god forbid) and they should sue the government because they where not allowed to defined them selves and the government did nothing to protect them.


Just think 100 million dollar law suit to make the government take notice. and you can argue that it took 30 minutes for the police to show up but if you had a firearm at the ready in your position you could have protected yourself and family in seconds.

Ricky, that one won't fly. It's already been tried [no pun intended] in the US and the courts have ruled the police are not responsible for getting "there"
in time.

[Grizzly Adam]

Here in the states, it all depends on where you hang your hat, boys. In my county (and most around here), the sheriff's office is very much in favor of citizens owning and maintaining firearms, and very much in support of citizens having Concealed Carry Permits ... so much so that when our permits were 90 days from expiring, the Sheriff's secretary called me up on the phone to tell me we'd better come in and renew so there would be no lapse! How about that?

If you defended your life and health with lethal force here within the parameters of justifiable cause, I guarantee that there would be no question whatsoever, and no problem either.

Not a bad place to live, all in all.

[rickyp]

don't sue the police, you sue the state or Providence for not providing you with proper protection or allowing you the means to protect your self.

The police have nothing to do with the laws they just enforce what is on the books weather they like them or not.

[awshucks]

don't sue the police, you sue the state or Providence for not providing you with proper protection or allowing you the means to protect your self.

The police have nothing to do with the laws they just enforce what is on the books weather they like them or not.

Might work if you survive the encounter. My attorneys are Smith & Wesson. when Florida first passed their CCW, they had a problem w/ tourists in rental cars getting attacked. It was so bad, I believe the state changed the license plates so rental cars weren't as obvious to the thugs.

[aerostarp]

TPM wrote:

While training, teaching and involving your kids is awesome never say "never".

TPM - you are absolutely correct. I go over with them constantly the rules almost every day. I periodically deliberately leave an empty handgun lying around to see their response. I do this because when I have to leave them alone or with their mother in the house I make sure they have access to the gun-closet so that they can respond in a dire emergency. They also know that if they violate this rule they will be severely punished with my denying their access and use of any firearm for at least 1 year. It has worked so far.

[sumner4991]

Kids are just that, kids. Never expect them to be adults. They make mistakes. They do stupid things. It's our job as parents to guide them into opportunities for success. Hopefully, a long series of successes. Leaving a child with a loaded gun or access to a loaded gun is generally a mistake. A friend of mine had his eldest son kill himself with a hand gun. They like to think it was an accident, we will never know. There's one parent that wishes the guns were locked away in his absence.

Another friend of mine came to visit me here in Georgia from Virginia. We took his 6 year old son to the local park. Once we got out of the car, the boy headed in a hurry for the swings. My friend instructed his son, "now don't get dirty". I asked him, "What kind of a fool thing is that, to tell a 6 year old boy?". The boy is a boy . . .yes, he did get dirty. My point is, expect kids to be kids.

I keep my guns in one place. Ammo in another. Both locked. I do that because I have kids in the house. A thief would have to give me 15 minutes warning before I could be ready. However, all my neighbors know I'm a hunter and I have guns. Hopefully, that knowledge alone will keep me from being a target of thieves. There are way too many homes around me that have no guns. I keep my targets in sight of the main road . . .they know. House WITH guns.