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HMMM, you are right. I dont believe there are any “mandatory” gun safety procedures required by law now. I would be all for incorporating some. ……Regarding on whether or not it is an infringement upon gun owners rights that is a tough question. Because technically, there would be some infringement but I would not know where to start with outlining them. If one were mandate that guns could not be loaded unless in the hands of someone..ie dont leave loaded guns lying around, then that to me is a reasonable request but a more pro-gun person than myself would claim that an unloaded gun would do no good and they would have a point. They tried trigger locks and those are a joke plus they contributed to the cost of buying a gun which one could also claim was similiar to a “poll tax”…ahh the tangled web we weave…I really dont know what to say to that.

Anyway, I have to get back to shoveling my drive for the 2nd time in the past hour.

Good Day.

You say: “Before I was married my now wife came home one day and people were in her house. They ran out the back door and stole some coins but having a gun locked up would have done her no good”,

But having a gun out could have easily gotten into the hands of one of the people breaking in rather than your wife!

I could see where gun safety education in schools would be beneficial for all children. Even though there are not guns in my home, I know that my kids play at houses where there are and I would feel good knowing that they’ve been taught about safety.

I think gun education for adult gun owners is even more important. You liken it to driver education. But the difference I sense in your interpretation is that safety measures taught about guns are more like suggestions. In driver’s ed you don’t learn that it’s simply safer to stop at red lights, but rather that it’s mandatory or there will be repercussions should you get caught or cause an accident.

With gun safety, those precautions seem to be more optional and, if inconvenient, then an infringement on the rights of the gun owner.

You are right in that there should be some responsibility on the gun owner to take some reasonable precautions. I havent really thought this through yet so I will try to give you my off the cuff remarks, with the opportunity to revise them .:))….Anyway, I dont know where the line is. Obviously they should not be laying (or is it lying Dan?) around the house. I recall an incident in Michigan where a convicted felon had a loaded handgun on the coffee table and his 6 year old nephew shot his sister. In that case, I think the owner or should I say, person responsible for the gun is at fault and should have been punished. However, if someone breaks into your house and steals your guns then I dont think the original owner should be responsible for any damages. I personally have a safe and keep my ammunition in a smaller locked box inside the safe. As far as leaving the gun outside or on the porch, etc…obviously that is not a good thing and I think the owner should be held responsible in those situations.

Now all of this begs the question as to what is safe storage. I dont think necessarily that gun owners should be mandated to have a gunsafe. Not only can they be quite expensive but it does take away some of the effectiveness of defending your home when a burglar breaks in. Before I was married my now wife came home one day and people were in her house. They ran out the back door and stole some coins but having a gun locked up would have done her no good. So I have to lean to having the gun definitely out of the reach of children but accessible in a reasonable amount of time to the owner.

I also wanted to state that although I am obviously pro-2nd amendment here, I am not 100% sure that I would carry my gun all the time, if at all, if Illinois were to enact a CC law. I dont even own a handgun.

I also wanted to comment on your,Rock Rockster’s, and Paco’s comments about the difference between cars and guns. I agree with the “intent” argument. I doubt very few people get drunk and say “I am going to run someone over on the way home tonight”. And yes, guns are built and designed to kill, whereas car are not designed for that main purpose. But at certain times there is a need to kill or wound another person. In those times, a gun would be come in handy. I guess it is sort of a circular argument because now I go all the way back to the framers intent. Plus of course there is the side benefit of harvesting your own meat from animals.

One thing that “irks me” to quote one contributor to this blog is when people who dont believe in hunting have no problem eating a steak at a restaurant or getting some hamburger from the butcher. Someone had to kill those animals. Most, not all, hunters hunt for both the “sport” (I know that will bring some comments) and the meat. Hunters contribute a lot to conservation and animal control. We have several million deer here in Illinois and every year there are many accidents and deaths caused by deer running into the road. Plus hunters contribute many thousands of pounds of venison to soup kitchens. 5 years ago, I planted 5000 trees on the land that I hunt, so I also like to think I am contributing to the green movement.

I considered that an employee might have/probably stole the gun from the shooting range. But the timeline is still troubling to me. From January 1 until the middle of February that gun could have been anywhere. I still say more oversight by the owner is necessary, especially if the guns are accessible to many people.

R.M.

At what point would you consider it to be a gun owner’s responsibility for not properly securing his weapon? If they leave it in their open garage? Front porch? How about just laying it out in the front yard? I think this underscores my problems with gun advocates who seem to want all of their rights, but only select responsibilities.