10 Reasons Parents Should Not Have Guns in the House


Posted on January 8, 2013 by admin | in Background Check

Children are infinitely curious creatures by nature, and always want to learn how things work. While this naturally curiosity is a great trait to have, it can also manifest itself by enticing them to play with things that can be harmful, if not fatal, to them. Children are well known for raiding all of mom and dad’s hiding spots and they will mess with anything from money to guns. The best way to avoid accidental shootings is for parents to not have guns in the house, and here are 10 great reasons why.

  1. Curious Kids – All children want to learn how things work. They do not think of the consequences and sometimes don’t even understand them. Even guns that parents have thought are well hidden and out of reach have been discovered by inquisitive kids. When this discovery leads to an accidental discharge of the weapon, leaving either the child or another person seriously, if not fatally, wounded, it is a true tragedy.
  2. Accidental Shootings – Accidental shootings do happen. The thing is, there are an infinite number of possible reasons they occur.  Accidental shootings can happen when a gun is unintentionally discharged inside of a home or when a child is left unattended where a gun is located. The only way to properly guarantee there is no chance of accidental shootings is to not have any guns in the home.
  3. Youthful Ingenuity – Many parents do not understand the ingenuity that their children possess, and thus make the mistake of assuming that their child is too naïve to find mom or dad’s hiding spots for their weapons. Today, however, many children are ingenious enough to not only find the hiding spots, but also to either pick the locks or find other methods to get inside areas that they were locked out of.
  4. Burglary – Burglary is a very scary situation. What is even scarier, though, is the thought of having your own gun pulled on you by the robber. Another possible situation is suspecting that you hear a burglar, only to find out that it was a loved one sneaking about the house for one reason or another.  Either of these can have catastrophic consequences after a split second decision.
  5. Teenage Suicide – Teenagers are already experiencing a very emotional period in their life, and may begin to feel inadequate or even depressed. By not owning a gun, you are making it that much harder for a teenager to act on their feelings of despair in an irreversible way.
  6. Your Kid’s Friends- You may assume that you can trust your kids when it comes to your guns, but have you thought about how well you can trust your children’s friends with your guns? Too often, children and teenagers are influenced to do things by their friends that they would never do on their own. If your kids know there are guns in the home, their friends will likely be aware of the fact as well. Peer pressure can be a dangerous thing. Removing the guns solves that issue.
  7. Youthful Irresponsibility – Children tend to be irresponsible, which is a good reason to abstain from having guns in the home in and of itself. Whether the child is bragging and showing it off to a friend, or they are playing some child’s game with it, their irresponsibility can cause themselves or someone else to get seriously, if not fatally, injured.
  8. Lack of Safe Storage – Being the owner of a gun or guns comes with responsibility. If you do not have a safe storage place for your gun inside your home, it should not be there.  Any guns that are kept inside a person’s home should be kept in a gun safe with its ammo being kept under lock and key in another location. Without this safety precaution, guns in the home remain a danger to children.
  9. Lack of Parental Supervision in the Home – One of the biggest reasons that children get hurt or hurt someone else while playing with guns is a lack of parental supervision. Without proper supervision and guidance, children can get into all kinds of mischief. With guns in the home, that mischief can turn deadly.
  10. Parents Lack Firearm Knowledge – Having a lack of firearm knowledge isn’t just dangerous for children; it can be for the adults in the household as well. Without having proper knowledge of how to use a firearm, a person may accidentally mishandle it and cause an accidental discharge. Many children have been injured or killed when their parents accidentally discharged a weapon in the house.

Whether it is childhood curiosity or an accidental discharge, guns can cause fatal injuries to people when they are not handled properly. The best way to keep children safe from guns is not to keep them in the home.

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