We are at the moment, but we're totally open to owning and properly storing one at some point.

no, no, no...i am not gun friendly and would be NOT send my daughter to a friends house if i knew there were guns in the house.

there is no need for guns. ever.

"there is no need for guns. ever."
I can understand being personally anti-gun, but this statement is just ridiculous and false. I mean, really.

I grew up in a house with loaded guns, I myself went target shooting at an early age, we learned how to respect firearms and my parents were very reponsible with them and with teaching me. In fact the closet in my room was for the rifles that were unloaded and I never touched them.

There is a need for guns, I am terrible with a bow and arrow and my slingshot skills are rusty.

CaterpillarGirl *lol*

I understand not going on a playdate in a house with a gun, I just don't understand "no one ever needs them, ever." Depending on who it was and how well we knew them, a gun being in the house would not be a sole reason for me personally to not allow my child at the house.

Right now we dont own a gun and I can say that my husband and I both feel that we wont ever need one.

As for other families, IMO, I think as long as you store it and lock it up and never show it to your kids it's ok for your own personal reasons.

I grew up in a house with guns and we too went target shooting and learned how to care and clean the guns. We went over all of the rules before we got the guns out and we were always very precautious. That being said, now that I have my own kids, I don't want any kind of gun in my home. I don't see the point in owning a gun, we don't hunt, we have an alarm system and I figure if someone wants into your house bad enough, there is nothing that is going to stop them. If someone else wants to own a gun, that's fine and dandy, to each their own. Personally though, it's not for me. I read/hear all of theses stories about kids getting shot by their own families guns and it breaks my heart. I couldn't even fathom something like that happening to my kids.

meandtheo...i pretty much agree and i don't think it's a ridiculous or "false" statement. unless you are an avid hunter who depends on it to feed your family, i just don't see the need. if NO ONE had guns there would be no need for anyone to have them for personal "safety" or self-defense.

If no one had guns, we'd just need knives, slingshots, or biological weapons for self defense.

And if you make exceptions for hunting to feed the family, that does make "there is no need for guns ever" a false statement.

loaded guns are a no-no. in a house with children, that would never be necessary.

unloaded guns properly stored/locked up is okay, in my opinion, if a member of the family hunts or something, but why loaded? no no no. never. and i can agree, i wouldn't want my kids in a house where they did have loaded guns.

yes i don't see how there is a need a for gun ever...please explain.

*w/the exception of the example given above about hunting as your only source of food...which i think is very rare these days.

and we don't NEED to eat meat, therefore we don't NEED to hunt and there is no need for guns.

My husband would like to start his gun collection again, (he sold everything to help pay for our wedding), but is hesitate because of our daughter. He knows that properly storing them is what should always be done.

"if NO ONE had guns there would be no need for anyone to have them for personal "safety" or self-defense."
That is a completely empty and meaningless thing to say. People DO have guns, so to say "well if no one had guns" is not valuable in the slightest.
Criminals DO have guns. That is a fact. Now, is there a need for guns knowing that FACT?

It is very scary to me that in this day an age that anyone thinks that they need a gun for protection. The risk the you run of having one in your home and you child being shot is way more important then some so called protection. Unless you are a trained professional you will not have the skill or power to protect your self from some criminal. WE get our food from the supermarket so why must anyone kill innocent animal for sport is cruel and unnecessary.

still no need for guns by everyday people (which is what i thought was implied in the original post by lilsugar).

it is obvious that because criminals have guns and use them on police, than police must also have guns, we wouldn't want our armed forces trying to fight back with bow and arrows

Hi, I'm from texas and support the right to bear arms (of course) lol but seriously, other people will always have guns, (it's called the black market!) so you better get one to protect yourself too. carrying one in your purse is a bit much, why not a taser instead? but it's very important to store your gun safely and properly at home. think of it as a line of defense, and keep your kids away from it.

I'm not talking about police. I'm talking about any person who feels more comfortable having a gun to protect their home and family.
And Dana, Goodness. How could ANY of us possibly think we need guns to keep our homes safe? Come on. Do you not read the news? Do you participate in reality? Armed robberies happen. Maybe you don't think it's necessary to protect yourself with a weapon, but some people do. And that is completely reasonable.

I mean, sh!t. Do you guys not keep household cleaners in your house anywhere either? Kids can swallow those and die. What about knives? Those are certainly dangerous to kids. Medications?
No. The truth is you have these things and you store them in a SAFE PLACE. What's the difference between those things and guns?

They are definitely not for me and if I know they are at a friends house I'm sure I'd allow my daughter to go there but to each their own.

*not go there

I need to eat meat, prove to me that i dont.

I hunt for sport and i love what comes out of it, do i have to eat wild game? No, do i love it? yes.

Guns are plain fun! if you dont "need" them for defense (and I think that you do) than I need them to go shoot at the range, or get the turkey for thanksgiving!

well, i am "reading the news" and "participating in reality" and i see many reasons (including lilsugars post) everyday that guns are not needed and should NOT be in the home. surely the people that i am reading about when i read the news are the same ones that think they need guns to protect their homes/families.

i think they may be thinking again.

"I need to eat meat, prove to me that i dont."
I think the proof would be that tons and tons of people abstain from meat and are perfectly healthy.
Not that I'm wanting to get into a huge meat debate when this is supposed to be about GUNS, but yeah.

Me- So you trust the criminals of your city with their guns more than you'd trust yourself to properly store a gun of your own? Accidents happen, but that isn't because guns are in the home. It's because of irresponsible parenting.

foxie, no i do not trust the criminals more than myself...but i do not live my life in fear.

i agree that it is the responsibility of the parents to put away ALL harmful things to children and to protect them from the dangers of the world. it is for this reason that i believe introducing them to guns would be wrong, why have one of the most dangerous things in my home when i feel there is no need for it?

I'm not saying you should. I'm simply pointing out how seriously flawed your rationale is in saying that "guns are never necessary."

in my opinion they are not necessary...you would have to walk on water to prove to me otherwise. which i do not believe has been done yet!

Well I am not going to try to walk on water. If simple rational thinking can't persuade you then I suppose we'll just have to disagree.

So to prove that they are someone needs to do something impossible. great arguement.

Dog attacks are much more likely than a gun accident, yet you never see anyone say "No one needs to own a dog, ever" or calling for dogs to eliminated.

The whole point of "in my opinion" is that you cannot be proven wrong, nor can you prove yourself right. That's why it's an opinion.

Personally, I do hunt for sport, and we do eat the meat from the animals we hunt. Growing up, we did rely on hunting for meat because we didn't have the money to buy meat at the supermarket. Of course, we didn't have the money for a lot of other things that people take for granted either. I still live pretty frugally and I save money by hunting which I can then use on something else other than meat from the supermarket. I'm fully supportive of guns in the home for hunting or sport purposes. No, I don't feel that you need guns in the home for protection though. Yes, you hear about accidents and things happening in the news but if you put it into perspective, how many people have been shot with a gun in the last year? Then think about how many people didn't get shot with a gun in the last year. The news only reports on the stories that will get people's attention, they don't report on hunter's safety programs or on parents who teach their children to handle guns safely.

jeez foxie, take the pro-gun speeches down a notch

guns in a family home are totally unncessary. the chances of an armed robbery while you're home is slim, but even so, it's not the safest thing, in a house with children, to present yourself and try to take down that robber with a gun. he is not likely to shoot if a danger is not presented

oh, and by the way greggie, the proven most common dog to attack humans (pit bulls) ARE being banned, so that kinda shoots your thoery to sh*t

I have no problems with guns in the house. We don't have any, but we will one day and if my future children want to learn how to handle one, I will show them when they're old enough.

and i'll go back to my original argument - guns in the house is one thing (UNLOADED! for sport!) but why why why why why would you need a loaded gun?!?!?!?! WHY?

Ski - Because you disagree with me, I should stop sharing my viewpoint? How evolved of you.

" to present yourself and try to take down that robber with a gun."
Obviously simply OWNING a gun is not enough to protect yourself. That's why so many people here have already pointed out the importance of learning how to handle guns and deal with situations where you might need to use one.
Dog attacks happen from lots of breeds, and I'd compare BSL to gun control laws, which do exist. So THAT shoots your theory to sh!t, so to speak.

Pit bulls aren't the only dogs that attack, so it's not shooting anything to sh*t.

I understand people don't want guns. I understand people don't want their kids in houses without guns. I fully support the right to believe that and I will absolutely be up front with anyone should we ever get a gun, so that they can make an informed choice about whether or not they want their child at my house.

What I do not understand is people saying no one ever, anywhere, ever needs.

Part of storing a gun properly is to store it unloaded. I never said my reason for having one was to shoot someone at a moment's notice, so I can't answer the question of why someone would need a loaded gun. I'd never keep one in my purse, either, unless I somehow stepped into a movie where I was being stalked and blackmailed.

skigirl- i just read foxie's profile, in the military...no need to say more about the pro-gun mantra we are hearing

i never said don't share it, i said take it down a notch
you're a little trigger happy, and it's about a really controversial topic. a loaded gun in a household with children is not something most parents would approve of. just take it easy.

and greggie, then i agree with you. storing an unloaded gun safetly is fine. foxie is suggesting to have a loaded gun accessible at a moment's notice incase a crazed gunman comes running into your house to rob you. sounds safe.

Really skigirl, when did I say a stored gun should be loaded? If you can't be civilized enough during debating to at least be accurate, then you shouldn't bother at all. I won't tone it down at all, I'm being honest and telling it how I see it. I don't see anyone here composing themselves differently.

I've just reread the thread three times and cannot find where foxie said she wants a loaded gun within hand's reach at all times.

The whole "military is pro-gun" is one hell of a broad stereotype. Like all vegetarians are hippy freaks who smoke pot.

whoa, mama...it was not anti-military. it was a statement as to why you would be pro-gun.

that is all. i have nothing against the military. would not say anything bad about it.

sorry if i misunderstood. but if someone came into your home weilding a gun and robbing you, you would unlock your secure cabinet, locate your ammo in a seperate but equally secure cabinet, load the gun, and then proceed to protect your family from this maniacal killer?

i am being truthful, i just assumed you meant loaded when you were talking about personal safety and protection from armed robbers.

Oh and before I get reamed, yes I get that the military has guns. *lol* My point is that it doesn't automatically make a military family pro-gun in the home. In fact, in my experience, military families are the ones who are totally against it and wouldn't let their children play in my house if I had one. Which again, is totally ok. It's just an assumption that makes no sense when it comes to this debate.

check your facts again...i did not post in that thread yesterday.

and watch the name calling, geez!

Okay, I apologize because I just went back to that thread and it was someone with a similar name to yours who said that. I ONLY apologize for getting angry about that though, because what you said in this thread is still ridiculously stereotypical.

ouch, stop the fighting.

foxie, thanks for being in our air force, that's amazing and I totally respect you for it. I don't understand how anyone could put you down for that.

people have guns or choose not to have them for different reasons but I think we can all agree how important it is to keep them away from children.

you may be right, but as someone in the military do you know a lot of people that are anti-gun?

i think it would be odd for an anti-gun person to join the military knowing full well they will have to handle and shot guns.

Thank you Krae! And once again, I apologize about the name calling. Seriously though, how offensive to assume that everyone in the military feels the same about ANY one subject? Guns included! I've got news for you, we're normal people in the military. Our opinions vary just like civilians' opinions vary.