Thoughts on leaving loaded guns in the house and car when not occupied

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

Some think that's it's negligence per se (automatically) to leave any gun loaded and "theoretically accessible" (out of the safe) in a home or car that is locked, even if no one is in there and no one COULD be in there without breaking in; some believe otherwise. Where do you fit in? See poll.

Remember, this is talking strictly about leaving a gun in an empty (of humans), locked house or car where no one else has access to the house/car, and short of an emergency responder (firefighters, etc.), no one would have access to the guns unless it was a result of an illegal breaking & entering (i.e. thieves / burglars / vandals).

I voted for the last category.

 

[Grey_Mana]

1) no poll
2) no negligence per se
3) but uncomfortably close to negligence per se. Depends; case-by-case; reasonable person standard.

The police/fire/rescue people who might have reason to kick in your door are presumably adult enough not to go fondling guns.
Constitution guarantees security against unreasonable search and seizure. In the spirt of that right (but admitedly, not the legal interpretation), you should be free from searches by anybody who doesn't have permission to be in your house (not just government minions).

Edit- the poll magically appeared!

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

Edit- the poll magically appeared!

Yep, amazing how that happens (every time).

 

[testar77]

how about the ole' nursing home answer................ Depends

Car

if I happen to be carrying and need to run into the bank, Post Office, Liquor Store........etc I certainly would not take the time to unload my weapon, I would stash it and call it good. Now would I night in and night out leave a loaded pistol in my car? Definately not!

House

I almost always(I know it's an oxymoron) have a loaded weapon in the house, however if I was going to be away overnight and the house was going to be empty, then no it gets unloaded and put in the safe.

Just my .02

Toby

 

[GRIZ22]

In the house no kids and everyone knows how to handle them is not a problem.

I don't like leaving an unloaded gun in my car. This is most likely due to growing up in the city where you didn't leave anything in your car you didn't want to lose. If I had to leave in car I would unload and secure gun and leave the ammo separate.

 

[cambeul41]

No one but thieves could access it anyway.

Accessibility to thieves / robbers is a major consideration.

 

[mr2guru]

Eh, If I ever have to leave my CCW in the car (restricted areas) I will lock it in the glove box. But I really try not to leave it in the car unless I am going through a metal detector.

 

[dobrzemetal]

I think if you can keep a good HIDDEN weapon in your car or house then its not negligent at all.

I keep my gun with me at all times, so I don't leave it behind usually. I think its important to keep it on your person as much as possible. For example, tonight I came home, walked inside the dark and noticed that the back door was open. I unholsterd my weapon and went to the back of the house and didn't find anyone. I later remembered that my girlfriend left it open earlier today, so it was cool. Those are just my set of circumstances but If I wasn't a poor college student I might think about investing in some kind of permanent car gun just to keep there for safe keeping if SHTF and I had to use it in the case of something like Arming the passenger of my car or run out of ammo with my primary carry piece.

However, I do sometimes leave my gun behind when I go to class. I do not put it in the glove compartment though, like the usual guy. This is because if a crack-head were to break into my car looking for change or something, i'm sure he would try to get into the glove and thats not a hard task even if it is locked, then the bastard has a gun. I have a nice tuck-away spot in my car that nobody could find unless they took their damn good time. On the other end of the spectrum if you had kids in your house, then its probably bad to keep a loaded weapon in direct access to a child. I would install a key-pad safe next to bed if thats what your worried about.

 

[TAB]

any place you can think of to hide a weapon a crimal will know about it.


I would not let a loaded gun get out of my possession.

 

[Rockwell1]

I'm actually not sure where I fall on this one. I voted "Too many variables to make the call".

I have a lock box in the car,any handgun left in the car goes in it and rifles aren't left in the car period.

At home all firearms are secured in a safe when no one's home.

So I guess my vote is it's not negligent so long as proper steps are taken to secure the weapon.

 

[f4t9r]

No problem loaded at home. In the car loaded in a lock box

 

[polekitty]

Leave it loaded?

I "carry" all the time except when I'm in bed. Then it's withing arms reach.

The only time I leave it in the car is when I go into the post office. Then, I pull the mag and put that in my pocket, leave the the gun under all the garbage I tend to accumulate on the floor. If some one steals the car they have a gun but no mag (there is a round in the chamber.) Hopefully they'll trip themselves up when they try to buy a mag for a rare model gun---I think every gun store around here knows my gun!

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

When I leave guns at home, they are in a safe. In circumstances where I might have to leave a gun in a vehicle, I only do so for short periods. I do not believe in keeping any gun permanently in a vehicle. If my gun were stolen and used in a crime, I would not be legally responsible in TN, but I would still feel bad about it if I did not take reasonable measures against the theft.

 

[Grassman]

I have a 9mm locked in the console of my truck at all times.

 

[moi_self26]

I personally, don't like blaming anyone but the criminal.

However, just to offer a perhaps more desirable condition for some, if you need to leave your gun in the car and are worried about it, why not just remove the mag and hide it in a separate location? A lock box isn't going to do much good. Any lock box you would want to use in your car could likely easily be taken, only to have the contents removed later.

 

[HB]

I didn't see a best option but here is my thinking.... You shouldn't leave guns lying around at home for a few reasons. If somebody breaks in, they get a loaded gun. If that somebody is in my house when I return from work, there is a good chance we are gonna have ourselves a shootout, which doesn't sound like much fun.
Same could be applied to the car, but if you lock it in the glovebox and unlock it when you enter the car, it makes more sense. That being said, do what you want, it isn't my life your playing with.

"any place you can think of to hide a weapon a crimal will know about it. I would not let a loaded gun get out of my possession."
Very good insight.


HB

 

[ByAnyMeans]

I voted that it depends on circumstances. I have most of my guns in my safe and two handguns in a nightstand box. I have a lock box attached to a cable under my front seat for leaving a weapon in my car. However I have not found a way to secure my shotgun kept under my bed that I am comfortable with. There is no one to access it but a criminal yet and when I have a little one hopefully I can have found a way to secure it.

 

[PTK]

I must sometimes leave a loaded gun or guns in my truck - it bugs me, but the other option is being totally unarmed for large blocks of time while traveling to/from a "no guns" destination.

As for leaving guns loaded at home, ZERO problem with that. If someone takes one, they're a thief, and had to get through two or three locked doors.

 

[HB]

As for leaving guns loaded at home, ZERO problem with that. If someone takes one, they're a thief, and had to get through two or three locked doors.

I disagree with that. It seems your guns are secured, but leaving a loaded gun out is stupid. If they get it, they now have your gun! This means they can shoot somebody or you if you come home at the wrong time (or a cop comes to the report from a neighbor.) Just lock it up, and load it when you get home. A loaded gun does you no good if you aren't there to use it.

 

[Zoogster]

It is never "negligent" to leave property in a locked home or automobile where nobody but a thief could gain access.
Now if you have family, children or others who shouldn't have uncontrolled access to the firearm with keys or access to the vehicle then there is other concerns. Then it is accessible to people not breaking the law and it would be negligent.


I however believe nothing of great value should be left in a vehicle where it could be accessed by a thief. If it must be then it should be a secure location, perhaps your own added custom locked compartment.
That however is a personal standard from spending time living in cities, not a basis for negligence.
Most certainly anything that can be seen from outside the vehicle is ripe for theft, and once a thief gets into a vehicle they are likely to search most common storage spots not visible from outside quickly.
Doing so would not be negligent as only someone breaking in could access them, it would simply be a poor way to insure you never lost the item.



There is a dilemma for people or weapon types (like long guns) which offer no other reasonable way to possess.
If for example someone goes to a location they cannot exit thier vehicle with a long gun or carry or possess a handgun, yet wants the possibility of having the gun at other destinations or while traveling afterwards then they have few options.
Going to the range or hunting after work? Want a firearm available while traveling, but visit destinations that do not allow firearms inside?
Sometimes there is few options other than securing it in the vehicle. Just like police across the nation do.


Loaded or unloaded really makes little difference if it is stolen, so that should not even factor in. The thief should have little trouble aquiring ammunition for it even if it is unloaded, and you would likely store ammo with it anyways. So its state of being loaded seems far less important than whether it is stolen or accessible to family/friends/children that can aquire the keys and should not have unlimited access.

 

[Macmac]

I never leave a loaded gun in a car locked or not, I just don't leave a gun in a car peroid.

In my home is another thing and to use it ya gotta find it, and you won't if i leave it home which pretty much I don't, because it's on me in the car/bike.

The rest are locked up and empty.

Now if a thief got the steel cases open he would have both guns and ammo. i can't help that, but to do so mean the silent alarm failed the service failed, the cips failed, and the thief just had tons of time to cave in a lot of stuff, like 1 inch stainless bolts in doors, and run amuck to find what he should find as even the steel cases are hidden from plain view.

 

[CoRoMo]

I wouldn't leave it at home without being locked up if I'm going to leave it loaded.

I do leave my daily carry piece in my truck when I go into a post office or other government building. When I do that, it is put away in the truck and in a zipper pouch.

 

[bthest86]

When I'm delivering pizzas I have to spend a good amount of time in the store. During which I leave my [loaded] gun locked in my glove compartment. Since the store I work for serves alcohol I really don't have much choice.

Either I leave it locked in the car or I don't carry it at all.

 

[Rockwell1]

Any lock box you would want to use in your car could likely easily be taken, only to have the contents removed later.

Untrue, several companies offer lock boxes that can be bolted, chained or cabled to your car in such away that the thief would just about have to tear apart the car to take them.

 

[PTK]

I disagree with that. It seems your guns are secured, but leaving a loaded gun out is stupid. If they get it, they now have your gun! This means they can shoot somebody or you if you come home at the wrong time (or a cop comes to the report from a neighbor.) Just lock it up, and load it when you get home. A loaded gun does you no good if you aren't there to use it.

Three. Locked. Doors. One of the is B-rated for theft, as in, VAULT DOOR.