http://www.troyrecord.com/articles/2010/12/30/opinion/doc4d1b8bd20d218416017999.txt?viewmode=fullstoryWhile I agree with his premise about gun control, I disagree with locking up firearms.
As a child, I was trained with firearms from an early age. I got my first firearm, a Ruger 10/22 rifle, for Christmas when I was about 11. But I played with my father's firearms when I got home from school.
Once, the neighbor kid and I blew one of those giant Styrofoam gliders to smithereens using one of my Dad's shotguns. He stood behind me and launched the glider over my head, and when it passed overhead and sailed out in front of me I blast it. Turned it into snow.
I wanted to get a combination padlock off of my bicycle once, so I took my dad's .44 mag carbine and shot it off. The resulting shrapnel pierced and flattened the front tire.
I took the gunpowder out of shotgun shells and the unfired brass of a shotgun shell and turned a model rocket into a rocket-propelled mortar.
Now I was always aware of the safety concerns in what I was doing, so even though I was playing, I always observed good muzzle control, and target and backdrop awareness, so I never caused any damage or injury.
But the bottom line is, I know from personal experience that kids will play with dangerous things. And of course the news conveys this, also. Frequently, due to ignorance or a sense of invulnerability, it ends in tragedy.
Before I had children, I was of the mind of "don't lock up your firearms". What good is a firearm when you need it if it is locked up?
It's true, that locking up your firearms does give you a handicap should you need them in an emergency. But the truth is, for me, I've never needed to use a firearm defensively in my entire life. I've been fortunate in always living in nice neighborhoods with low crime.
So after I had children, it occurred to me that I'm much more likely to find my children playing with my firearms than I am likely to find myself needing them in a hurry to fend off a criminal. So, when my oldest turned 2, I went out and bought a gun safe. It's nothing fancy, just one of those $150 Stack-On safes that is little more than a lockable file cabinet. I'd like a real, fireproof safe but I can't afford $2000 or so for a good one. But what I have will keep inquisitive kids out.
It is a trade-off. I'm hopeful that if someone breaks into my home that I will have sufficient warning to be able to unlock and get to my firearm. But I could never forgive myself if my children killed each other or another child because I had not secured them.
I'm not in favor of a law to mandate such storage. Not everyone has the luxury of living in low-crime places like I do, and not everyone has children. So people should be able to make the choice for themselves. But I think if you have children in the home, you should lock up your firearms. If you are really concerned about needing quick access, get a quick-access safe.