Concealed carry laws and women

[locolala]

I keep my pistol locked in a biometric safe at night, as the PP said I just have to place my hand on it and the safe opens. The safe is on my nightstand, so it's very quick and easy to get to. We also keep a shotgun in our room with the shells in the same safe. It may seem extreme, but we live in a not so great neighborhood and I have a very violent ex out there who would love to get his hands on me. I really don't feel weird carrying my child when I have my weapon on me, I've carried for 4 years now so it's second nature to have it with me.

 

[TheBigBadWolf]

This is exactly what I was about to ask. If the gun is nowhere near you, why have one in the first place?

When my child was young, I always had BIG dogs and nobody in their right mind would have been stupid enough to encounter the dogs. But if they had, the dogs would have given me sufficient warning to get my gun out of the safe. If I hadn't had the dogs, I guess I would have relied on Mace or something like that. I would rather get murdered by an intruder than have my children accidentally kill themselves with a gun.

 

[npmommie]

I keep my pistol locked in a biometric safe at night, as the PP said I just have to place my hand on it and the safe opens. The safe is on my nightstand, so it's very quick and easy to get to. We also keep a shotgun in our room with the shells in the same safe. It may seem extreme, but we live in a not so great neighborhood and I have a very violent ex out there who would love to get his hands on me. I really don't feel weird carrying my child when I have my weapon on me, I've carried for 4 years now so it's second nature to have it with me.

Is the safe programmed that is only recognizes your hand? ( I don't know how they work)
so when you leave the house you carry, when you come home does it go right into the safe? or do you keep it on you in the house too? and only put it in the safe when you go to bed?
I am just genuinely curious about all of this

 

[tlbwriter]

So this leads to me next question..........for those of us with young kids in the home what good does a gun locked in a safe do if an intruder surprises us in our home?

If you wake up with an intruder standing over you pointing a gun to your head, having the gun next to your bed wouldn't have helped anyway. There is often some warning so you have time to get your gun. And when there isn't... well, you're no worse off than you would have been without the gun.

 

[AmongMadPeople]

If you wake up with an intruder standing over you pointing a gun to your head, having the gun next to your bed wouldn't have helped anyway. There is often some warning so you have time to get your gun. And when there isn't... well, you're no worse off than you would have been without the gun.

Good point.

I always think about the worst possible situations and what I would do in them, and people in our garage is one of them! I hope that in a home invasion situation I would have the opportunity to hide and call the police before using force (and therefore have time to get into a safe which is far away from any point of entry). If I hear someone breaking in, I always know where a phone is, where a gun is, and where to hide without compromising my ability to defend myself. Basically, I'm not going to risk the invader having a gun by confronting them so I can shoot them! If they steal my tv so be it, but if they find me, lord help 'em!

I have heard that most home burglaries happen during the day. And if someone was dumb enough to try to break into our house at night, our dogs would alert us in plenty of time and most likely scare off a would be criminal.

 

[LisaR]

At home its in the gun safe (we actually have several weapons at home and several safes). All of our safes are biometric (I place my hand on the scanner the safe opens and I take the gun out, or the gun just pops out). Again, gun is always loaded and the safety is on.

I keep my pistol locked in a biometric safe at night, as the PP said I just have to place my hand on it and the safe opens. The safe is on my nightstand, so it's very quick and easy to get to. We also keep a shotgun in our room with the shells in the same safe. It may seem extreme, but we live in a not so great neighborhood and I have a very violent ex out there who would love to get his hands on me. I really don't feel weird carrying my child when I have my weapon on me, I've carried for 4 years now so it's second nature to have it with me.

I didn't know these existed on a small scale for home use. I think it is strange that some people claim they have a gun for safety reasons but they keep the gun in a combo lock safe and the ammo in another safe. I could never understand how that made them feel safer. I really like the idea of a biometric safe. In our case, we have a house alarm so I would likely be alerted and have enough time to put my hand on the safe and retrieve my gun.

That said, I am still not a huge gun fan. I have told DH that I would be interested in a gun that shoots rubber bullets. Someone told us about it one time and made it sound like it worked so well. DH went into a gun shop to inquire about it and they basically laughed at him. They said they don't work and he either needed to man up and get a real gun or forget it.

 

[brerrabbit]

It's not that you need a gun that shoots rubber bullets, you just need the ammunition. Most likely a riot gun, which is usually a 12 gauge shotgun that fires shells loaded with less powder and bean bags instead of lead shot. Police use these during riots. They will knock you down and incapacitate the person for a while but they will recover and if they have a gun they can shoot back. For the most part people who teach you to handle guns for home protection will tell you right up front, if your life is threatened or the lives of your family are threaten you need to accpt the fact that you will be shooting with deadly force and intending to kill the intruder. Do not think in the heat of the moment that you will shoot them in the leg, or wing them and hold them till the police get there. You aim center body mass and fire at least twice (double tap). To think any other way means you don't need a gun in your house for protection. Guns are a personal choice and not for everyone. I own numerous guns and am proficient with all of them. I see them as tools and take the same precautions with them I would with any other tool. I operate them safley in a cautious manner. At the end of the day my family means enough to me that the possibility of using deadly force to protect them does not bother me at all.

 

[ratherbeatdisney]

When my child was young, I always had BIG dogs and nobody in their right mind would have been stupid enough to encounter the dogs. But if they had, the dogs would have given me sufficient warning to get my gun out of the safe. If I hadn't had the dogs, I guess I would have relied on Mace or something like that. I would rather get murdered by an intruder than have my children accidentally kill themselves with a gun.

what happens when an intruder breaks into your house and kills you and then takes off with your kids and does God knows what with them? That to me is the scariest prospect of all. I would rather have a gun in my house with kids, Take courses on Gun Safety, have the guns outfitted with the latest and best safety equipment and teach my children the dangers of playing with guns. You CAN have kids and guns Co-exist in the same house and still have safety, its all about education and discipline, both with the kids and with guns.

and like the someone said earlier, you usually dont have to worry about the people who are carrying concealed guns legally, its the people who carry them illegally that you really have to worry about. If you are willing to carry around a gun illegally knowing the harsh penalties, you probably are willing to perform lots of other crimes also, and with that said, i want to be able to defend myself against such threats.

 

[TheBigBadWolf]

If you are willing to carry around a gun illegally knowing the harsh penalties, you probably are willing to perform lots of other crimes also, and with that said, i want to be able to defend myself against such threats.

FYI, my DH and I BOTH have our CCL, and if your bolded comment was directed at me, I really resent it!

I was raised in a family who hunted and shot skeet and I've been shooting guns my entire life. I carry a Ruger LCR .38 with laser grips in my purse (but didn't carry concealed when I had a child in the house). I don't trust guns around most children. My DD was raised around guns, grew up shooting and took hunter safety classes. I trusted her for the most part but we kept our guns locked in a safe though, just to be careful. Just because a child has been taught about guns and trained how to use them, doesn't mean they will always be safe around them. Particularly when they have friends over and might show the gun to another child! Accidents happen every month with kids and firearms. I much preferred my dogs as protection when my DD was growing up. The dogs kept watch over us and alerted us to any danger. Since my DD is an adult now, I don't have to worry about the guns/children safety issue at my house any longer.

 

[Wishing on a star]

With my DH, who is commissioned and does have a CC permit....
His Glock is like the American Express slogan.... "never leave home without it"

I really don't understand the fears and prejudices that some people have.

 

[Darcy03231]

I didn't know these existed on a small scale for home use. I think it is strange that some people claim they have a gun for safety reasons but they keep the gun in a combo lock safe and the ammo in another safe. I could never understand how that made them feel safer. I really like the idea of a biometric safe. In our case, we have a house alarm so I would likely be alerted and have enough time to put my hand on the safe and retrieve my gun.

That said, I am still not a huge gun fan. I have told DH that I would be interested in a gun that shoots rubber bullets. Someone told us about it one time and made it sound like it worked so well. DH went into a gun shop to inquire about it and they basically laughed at him. They said they don't work and he either needed to man up and get a real gun or forget it.

Biometric safes do exist for home use - as I said in a previous post we have several in our home. My gun is loaded whether its on my person or in the safe. We have door and window alarms (wired w/battery backup) so I would have notice if someone tried to or broke in.

For those that want to know about guns and kids, I have kids and have always had guns in the house. Guns are never just left lying around. Since they were young our children have been trained in gun safety and they knew not to touch them and that they weren't toys. Youngest is now 17 so they're pretty much all adults and they all have a healthy respect for weapons.

 

[deedeetoo]

I didn't realize so many people had guns. I had never heard of people carrying around guns like this before. I have never touched a gun and can't even remember really ever seeing one close up. I'm not sure what my opinion is on it because I really hadn't even known about it before.

 

[KristaTX]

When my child was young, I always had BIG dogs and nobody in their right mind would have been stupid enough to encounter the dogs. But if they had, the dogs would have given me sufficient warning to get my gun out of the safe. If I hadn't had the dogs, I guess I would have relied on Mace or something like that. I would rather get murdered by an intruder than have my children accidentally kill themselves with a gun.

I'll first say that I don't have kids, guns, or dogs. But I'm more scared of dogs than I am guns.

Kids have been killed by guns. But kids have also been killed by dogs. Probably more kids have been killed by dogs than guns. I don't ever really understand people having big dogs around young kids.

I'm sure you were careful with your dogs, but I'm just as sure that most gun owners are careful with their guns.

Most dogs will never kill a person. Must guns will never kill a person. Some people (including me) are phobic about dogs. Some people are phobic about guns.

ETA: I don't mean that you are phobic about guns. It's just something your post made me think about.

 

[NikitaZee]

For the most part people who teach you to handle guns for home protection will tell you right up front, if your life is threatened or the lives of your family are threaten you need to accpt the fact that you will be shooting with deadly force and intending to kill the intruder. Do not think in the heat of the moment that you will shoot them in the leg, or wing them and hold them till the police get there. You aim center body mass and fire at least twice (double tap). To think any other way means you don't need a gun in your house for protection. Guns are a personal choice and not for everyone.

So true. I owned a 9mm about 15 years ago, and the retired detective who showed me how to use it gave me the exact advice quoted above. I was very nervous, however, and didn't think it was safe for me to keep carrying it. I ended up not keeping it, but now I'm older and more confident and am really thinking about giving it another try.

 

[npmommie]

With my DH, who is commissioned and does have a CC permit....
His Glock is like the American Express slogan.... "never leave home without it"

I really don't understand the fears and prejudices that some people have.

I don't think many are expressing prejudices, but again, I will say it highlights regional difference, I see you are a Southerner, very different than here in New England I think.

 

[LilyWDW]

I grew up with guns in my house because my father was a police officer. Very early on my dad made sure I knew how to handle the gun in the proper way so that there wouldn't BE an accident. By teaching me when I was young, it took the mystery off of what it was. Instead, I KNEW what it was and what it could do.

When I got a bit older my dad took me to the range to teach me to shoot.

There was never the idea of "guns are cool" with me. To me they were just another tool to keep my dad and others safe. I still have weapons in my house just in case I ever need them. I do not currently have a CCL, but have thought about getting it in the future.

 

[LisaR]

With my DH, who is commissioned and does have a CC permit....
His Glock is like the American Express slogan.... "never leave home without it"

I really don't understand the fears and prejudices that some people have.

It seems odd to me that you can't understand why some people would fear guns. Guns can and are quite dangerous. Because you feel you are well trained does not mean your neighbor, who also claims to be well trained in gun safety, really is. To me, it would be like saying that you never have a fear of driving/being on the road. Like guns, cars are dangerous. I certainly worry about the other idiots on the road that claim they are safe drivers but they are texting, playing with the radio, doing their hair and nails or they may be drunk. Some of those same idiots may also own a gun. It seems foolish not to have a little bit a fear. Does that fear stop me from driving or you from owning a gun? No. But, for me at least, that fear does exist. For some people the fear is so intense that they do not drive or they do not own a gun. Right or wrong, fears exist. You can't tell someone what they can or can't be afraid of.

 

[TheBigBadWolf]

Kids have been killed by guns. But kids have also been killed by dogs. Probably more kids have been killed by dogs than guns. I don't ever really understand people having big dogs around young kids.

You're kidding, right?

For example: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that a total of 3,042 children and teens died by gunfire in 2007— a number nearly equal to the total number of U.S. combat deaths in Iraq and four times the number of American combat fatalities in Afghanistan to date. Another 17,523 children and teens suffered non-fatal gun injuries in 2007 and the emotional aftermath that follows. In each case it was a gun that ended or changed a young life forever.

In 2007, the USA had 33 fatal dog attacks on people. 19 were children.

I admit those figures include murder, suicides, and accidents, but all involve guns in the hands of children. I didn't see any figures on dog bites that maimed children but didn't kill them. My dogs were family pets who slept in the house and were not guard dogs. I do agree that large dogs can be dangerous with children but to compare them with guns...

OP, sorry to take your thread off topic.

 

[Muushka]

The ones who are legally carrying aren't the ones you have to worry about.

Amen

I'd also like to hear the answer to where you keep your gun at home. This is such a timely post for me. After almost 50 years of being in a gun-free home, I felt it was time to get one. It was a difficult decision. I had my first training class last night. I'm a little scared of it (due to ignorance) and it is locked in a safe without bullets right now, but I plan to spend a lot of time at the range and in class learning safety and eventually get a concealed weapon permit.

We just started with guns. To answer your question, when I felt comfortable enough with handling a gun, the thought of leaving a loaded pistol in a place that I could easily access it became easier to swallow. I have made 2 trips to the range and I was "shooter of the month" this month! (I am not a good shooter, but didn't do bad for my second visit!)

So I came home and looked around the house and thought where would be the best place to leave a gun, loaded and out of sight where I could easily access it. And where someone would probably not look. My house is not set up like yours, so you need to ask yourself that question.

As far as ignorance, you are not! We are inexperienced, a big difference. And after 2 trips to the range, I felt more comfortable with it.

For those of you freaking out about loaded guns in houses, if a child came over I would remove the magazine in a heartbeat. I have too much respect for a gun to assume that a child could not find it.

I don't think many are expressing prejudices, but again, I will say it highlights regional difference, I see you are a Southerner, very different than here in New England I think.

For the record, this NC gal was a NE gal originally.

 

[teskak]

My question for the ladies who carry it in their hand bags- doesn't it break your shoulders?

My hand bag is heavy enough with coins, phone, car keys, and all of the other "stuff" that just gets shoved in a bag. How much does a loaded gun weigh?

In winter fair enough you could have it in holster under a jacket - but what about summer? there is no space in a pair of shorts for the gun - so therefore heavvy hand bag