(courtesy neg8thehate.com)

“ASK encourages parents to simply ask if there are guns in the homes where their children play (such as at friends’ or family members’ homes),” Rev. Susan Russell writes at huffingtonpost.com. “Just as it has become common to hear parents asking about nut allergies or how the children will be supervised, parents can take an important step to ensure the safety of their children simply by asking: ‘Is there an unlocked gun in your home?'” Personally, I’ve got no problem with that – unless its a ruse by an anti-gunner to find out if you’re a gun owner. And probably not even then. If that’s the way they roll, so be it. It’s the next bit that I wonder about . . .

If the answer is no [there’s no unlocked gun in the house], then we have one less thing to worry about. If the answer is yes, we can make sure all guns are stored unloaded and locked, ideally in a gun safe, with ammunition stored separately.

First off, I’d worry about someone who doesn’t keep a gun in their house. IMHO, the lack of a gat tells me they don’t take their security or the security of their family seriously enough. And if they’re failing to keep a firearm for a deadly threat to themselves and their loves ones it makes me question how well they’re prepared for other, more likely emergencies.

Anyway . . .

Security is about layers. The more layers you have, the more secure your firearm. I home carry, have sturdy widows and doors and use an alarm system. I maintain situational awareness, don’t open my door to strangers and keep my guns in a proper safe or on my hip. And most of them are unloaded. But not all.

I’m sorry, but if I need a long gun, adrenalin will be flowing like champagne at a Tiffany store opening. I’m not going to be able to get my gun, go somewhere else and secure the appropriate ammunition, and then marry the two and be ready for the fight. It’s strictly grab n’ go.

Again, I’m OK with advice to store guns in a safe. But I’m not OK with the ammo stored separately deal. And laws that mandate locked storage (something about “shall not be infringed”). Nor do I appreciate it when supposedly well-meaning civilian disarmament proponents ignore the most important safety system of all: the one between kids’ ears.

“Does your child know the four safety rules?” is the question that needs asking once you establish that they’re going to a gun-owning household. Any parent who depends on safes and separately stored ammunition to keep their children safe from a potentially lethal negligent discharge is guilty of dangerous complacency. Complacency kills.

As for WWJD before play dates with families who may or may not own firearms, I’m sorry, but the guy wasn’t a parent or a gun owner. So as much as I respect my fellow Jew’s opinion on various moral, ethical and practical matters I’m going with simple common sense on this one. I’ll ask, but I’ll do it discreetly and get the information I need to keep my girl safe.

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100 COMMENTS

  2. Parents should ask if anyone’s voted or donated (D) lately then “anything goes” included baby killing.

    Parents should determine if the household is “for choice” and then offer some form of epithet if they ever attempt to quote (or speak for JESUS). Never let a Jew claim they know Christianity or Christ (especially the “true meaning of Christmas or Easter” no thank you) better than you even if they convert.

    If you live in a blue state, you may be part of the problem, if you have a (D) after your name, the problem is part of you.

    • It’s really funny how evangelicals didn’t mind abortion at all, and didn’t find it “non-Christ-like”, up until early 1970s or so. Yet now it’s such a firm conviction. Sometimes for the same people.

  3. Sorry, but I do not care for that picture at all. Not that I believe Jesus was a Baltimore-police-approved, roll-over-and-play-dead pacifist. I do not. And I don’t see that ASK, whoever they are, speaks for Jesus. But I still don’t like that picture. Now if I can just find my asbestos suit…

  4. Beautiful picture of Jesus btw. Didn’t figure HIM for a wheel-gun man, but, nice.

    🙂

    • God speaks for god. 1. Thou shalt not kill is actually, thou shalt not murder. 2. and more and loosely translated, if you don’t protect ‘you’ or others you are not of god.

      Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial
      …35 And He said to them, “When I sent you out without money belt and bag and sandals, you did not lack anything, did you?” They said, “No, nothing.” 36 And He said to them, “But now, whoever has a money belt is to take it along, likewise also a bag, and whoever has no sword is to sell his coat and buy one.

  6. There’s so much scriptural fail in the huffpo article that I don’t know where to start. I mean…damn…a failure of Biblical proportion.

  7. As RF knows, most Jews in the USA do not share his views on firearms and the Second Amendment, so when the question is WWJD — what would Jews do, RF knows he usually won’t like the answer to that question.

    Perhaps in the interest of fair and balanced posting we could hear from some lefty Jews from time to time rather than mostly liberal Christians like Ms Russell who bio on HuffPo notes:

    “Rev. Susan Russell is an Episcopal priest and activist from Pasadena CA. A past-president of Integrity USA – the 30-year old national Episcopal gay caucus — she is a founding member of the Human Rights Campaign’s Religion Council, a member of Planned Parenthood’s National Clergy Advisory Board and a second generation Los Angeles Dodgers fan”

  8. Wouldn’t Jesus already know what’s in someone’s house?

    And no one else has any business knowing what’s in my house.

  9. Firearms are the most infrequent cause of accidental deaths that the Centers for Disease Control tracks. Everything else — falls, drowning, poison, fire, bicycle crashes, auto crashes, and on and on — causes more accidental deaths to children than firearms.

    If parents want to ask about a safe environment before letting their children play at a friend’s home, they better ask if there are any: chairs, tables, steps, ladders, trees, decks, flag poles, balconies, or windows (falls); pools, bathtubs, streams, ponds, or 5 gallon buckets (drowning); household chemicals, medications, or alcoholic beverages (poison); matches, lighters, electrical devices, furnaces, stoves, hot water heaters, clothing dryers, dishwashers, or gasoline (fires); bicycles, tricycles, scooters, roller skates, or skateboards (bicycles); motorcycles, all terrain vehicles, tractors, or automobiles (auto accidents). Oh, and I guess the thorough parent should also verify that rope, venetian blind draw strings, curtains, knives, scissors, axes, and power tools are all secured.

    After the concerned parent covers all of those, they can get back to me about secured firearms.

    • Exactly!

      I bet many parents do not ask

      1) Do you have first-aid training?
      2) Do you have CPR training?
      3) Is your fire extinguishers and fire alarms working?

      For all those things including a home invasion many parents simply rely on 911 and in many towns/cities the fire and EMT services take as long as the police to arrive.

  10. Wouldn’t it be WWJS? What Would Jesus Shoot? Apparently a revolver… I would’ve taken Jesus for a ‘Super Soaker’ guy.

  11. Given where jesus was born and raised he was probably of a darker hue. And the question of him being a parent is still very much up in the air. Fact is jesus was not all about peace and love. He could kick some serious butt when he needed to.

    • Right on all counts except the parent. You find me one serious Biblical scholar, Christian, Jew or atheist, who endorses that Merovingian bloodline crap and I’ll turn water into wine myself. Foucault’s Pendulum was entertaining, but it’s still fiction.

      • The Old Testament lists EVERY one of the first born sons from Adam up to the time the last Old Testament book was written. Jesus was the direct male descendant of Adam. Since the Messiah brought a new covenant with mankind, there would be no further need for the traditional first-born birth-right. So Jesus had no children.

        • That doesn’t mean he had no children, just that there was no longer a need to list them. Then you cannot discount the requirement for a rabbi (teacher) to be married either. Of course, with your new covenant, perhaps that restriction was lifted also. No where in the Bible does it say he was or was not married or if he did or did not have children, and there are 30 years of history unaccounted for also.

  12. And why would we let anyone KNOW we have firearms?

    Like when “Gallup” calls to ask if we have firearms in the house.

    No one needs to know if they are locked up properly.

  14. Yet another reason to stay away from people who try and shove their version of religion down your throat AND to never have children.

    And I feel like even Jesus is a pre-lock Smith&Wesson guy.

  15. For those parents who ask, I ask them what prescription drugs they have in the house, who they’re for and how they’re secured.

    Accidental prescription drug ingestion is a real problem as is the abuse of these easy powerful drugs.

  16. I wish I could recall the name of the comedian who said,
    “If Jesus were around, would he wear a T-shirt that says
    ‘What would I do?’ “.

  17. When opposition to Jesus’ ministry was reaching the boiling point he advised his disciples to arm themselves (to sell their cloaks to buy a sword if need be). The rev ought to read her Bible more often instead of getting involved in trendy liberal causes.

      • He didn’t tell them to get two swords. They already has two swords among them and He said two are enough. The point is Jesus wasn’t a pacifist–taking prudent precautions for self defense is absolutely fine. Two swords among a large group travelling on isolated roads would dissuade most robbers and thugs.

        • Several swords would be needed by an army or some form of large offensive. Jesus was talking about self defense, and two swords would be enough for that.

  18. The use of this picture of my Lord is horribly inappropriate…….the premise of the article is equally offensive.

    This type of juvenile ridiculousness relegates supporters of the Second Amendment to offending it’s own denizens………and focusing disgust of the opposition,

    This is completely wrong.

    • If it’s any consolation, it is not a picture of Jesus Christ since nobody alive today knows what He looked like enough to accurately depict Him. To illustrate, I have it on pretty good authority that Jewish men of the first century did not wear long hair, yet how many pictures depict Him thusly (Nazarene vs. Nazarite)? Why hold it up as such? It’d be like carrying a picture of Mona Lisa in your pocket because it looks like your wife…how would she feel about that?

      Personally I don’t care for most paintings, sculptures, or films of Jesus in light of the injunction against graven images found in the second commandment. Reading about and seeing people bowing to such things is worse to me as if someone defaced it.

    • Uh, I think your Lord must be in possession of a weapon more powerful than a wheel gun. Verily, thy holy book of Isaiah in chapter 13 sayeth unto thee:

      “Behold, the day of the Lord comes, cruel, with wrath and fierce anger, to make the land a desolation and to destroy its sinners from it. For the stars of the heavens and their constellations will not give their light; the sun will be dark at its rising, and the moon will not shed its light. I will punish the world for its evil…Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth will be shaken out of its place, at the wrath of the Lord of hosts in the day of his fierce anger.”

  19. MY Jesus has eyes as a flame of fire. He is returning soon to this world to execute judgement. He drove moneylenders form the JEWISH temple with great violence…and I LOVE that picture. BTW rev are you implying the good lady clergy is some kind of homosexual apostate heratic leftwing statist? 0h I forgot pro baby murder…

  20. If this “reverend” is as concerned with the salvation of souls as she is social activism, I might view her opinion with a baseline level of respect, but I sincerely doubt that is the case. So I will file 13 this opinion just as I do that of other media “reverends”.

  21. Are there cars at your house?
    Are there knives at your house?
    Are there baseball bats at your house?
    Are there hammers at your house?
    Is there knives at your house?
    Is there RX medications at your house?
    Is there chemicals at your house?
    Is there water at your house?
    Is there gravity at your house?
    No guns??? How can you protect my child from violence if you don’t have a gun?

    • You forgot:

      Scissors, spoons, forks, pencils, pens, electrical sockets & light bulbs, paperclips (for electrical outlets), nails, stairs, swimming pools, table saws, drills, belt sanders, band saws, drill presses, washers, dryers, computer dust spray, paint, brake disk cleaner, denatured alcohol, varnish, gasoline, kerosene, WD40, lighters, stoves, matches, candles, old fruit cake forgotten in the back of the fridge, spoiled milk, spoiled meat, bacteria on the kitchen counter, bacteria in the air, and an infinite list of others.

      Rather than try to protect them from all things possible – maybe they should just be educated instead?

  22. Sounds like a private matter between parents. Why make it a social issue? Let’s send it along to the gossiping elderly ladies while we are at it.

  25. Figures s&w would make a left handed revolver for the #2 in charge. I thought he would be more partial to rugers what with the Phoenix rising and such…..

  26. I keep my long guns in a locked case under the bed for now. Handgun on my 90% of the time (not right now because i’m in boxers and on pain meds following a gym accident–don’t let 360 lbs fall on you). If that aint enough, screw ’em

    • Well, duh. They’re both from the Holy Land.

      And was looking at picking up a Negev MG, but with the recent shortages even Jesus can’t find enough reasonably priced ammo.

  31. When they ask, I always say no, so that when they come busting in my door expecting easy pickings it’s always a big surprise (along with the third eye they receive) to them. They’ll not be back.

  32. I’d tell ’em that I have guns all over the place, all loaded and completely unsecured. It’s not true, but who in their right mind wants to babysit some nitwit’s kid?

  33. I am sorry due to opsec concerns i will neither confirm or deny the presence of weapons or their storage in my residence.

    However may i inquire as to :
    1. your criminal record, and all household members
    2. your mental health record
    3. your driving record
    4 recreational substances and usage patterns in your household
    5. number of lawsuits you have been a party to
    6 insurance coverage on the premises in event of an incident
    7. your credit rating
    8. your employment history
    9. the last three residences you have lived at
    10. 6 current references.

  34. It’s a good thing he can cure blindness and deafness. Though some basic ear/eye protection would be easier.

    When ever I hear someone say “ask _________ if they have guns in the house” I think of the film The Great Escape where the Germans trip up the RAF officers by suddenly speaking English to them.

    I have gone over and over with my kids about how to respond when/if people ask them if their parents have guns or if they know about guns. My father loves playing the role of surprise interrogator. They are tough nuts to crack now for sure.

  35. Huh. Funny how she doesn’t mention Jesus’ admonition for His disciples to arm themselves, if they wanted, and if it were possible.

  36. Hahaha
    All they have to do is walk in the door and see at least two gats. One long and one short.
    After all, variety.

  37. People coming to my house don’t even ask the question. They know there are guns. And they also know I am a safety nazi so it is not an issue Shannon.

  40. What the hell is this obsession with storing ammunition separately the antis have? It’s not as though it can crawl over and load itself into the gun…

    • They’re grasping at any infringement they can squeeze through in the name of “common sense” or “compromise” or “for the children.” Look at this baby!

  41. Pretty sure he’s the parent to creation. He also told his disciples to tool up and buy swords.

  42. Jesus would’ve carried an AR-15, no doubt about it. The real question is whether he would prefer an RDS, a micro-RDS, a low powered variable illuminated scope, or plain old iron sights?

  43. It’s a good idea to ask yourself privately what Jesus would do, if you’re genuinely trying to explore and understand moral tenets; but the idea of using Jesus as a prop or puppet to shill for one side or another in a political debate is tacky as Hell.

  44. This is just one more way for parents to get out of teaching their own children responsibility.

  45. Are these same people asking if I have my household chemicals locked up, kitchen knives out of reach, hardware tools/screwdriver shanks out of reach, etc……….

    • More likely the kind that don’t secure their own chemicals, knives, tools, and etc. then immediately blame somebody when one of their kids gets Darwinized.

  46. Whenever a supposedly bible knowing (notice I didn’t say believing) reverend, pastor, or priest says Jesus is against guns I just remember This modernized version of Luke 22:36.

    “sell everything you have until you can afford a proper Gat and enough ammo to feed it”

  47. It figures that the only perfect human ever would have a 5 or 6 shot revolver!!!! I guess if you are perfect you don’t need 15+1 and spare mags. Also I am confused is he teaching that kid to shoot????

  48. Why yes I do have a .22 rifle, but you have to provide 500 rounds if you want me to go train your spawn.

  49. I have no issue with asking a parent if there are firearms in their house. I make the decision if is is safe for my daughter to play at another prson’s house. I can only ensure the guns at my house are not accessible to a child. I can only assume and not know if they are or are not accessible to children at another house. I will not assume anything. If I hurt someone’s feelings asking, too friggin bad. I cannot trust the intelligence of other people over the life of my daughter. Believe me, in my job I deal with a lot of stupid people daily.

  50. now form the atheist branch, some people should read the bible, Leviticus tells about when you are justified in killing a thief! don’t believe in the Old Testament read in the New about Jesus instructing the apostles to arm them self’s!
    talk about carry, how about that roman dude getting his ear sliced off by an armed apostle!
    just another bunch of hog wash from a self important nobody wanting to be somebody, hey mommy look at me I just became an anti-American terrorist!!

  51. I would ask if they had guns – to know when we can shoot together. Even if they don’t, I would offer a range trip.

  52. Jesus has his finger on the trigger. Obviously he is protecting the child from some Roman or other threat. 😉

  53. If one reads the Bible with a rational, open mind, then the reader must conclude that Jesus almost certainly would not be a gun owner. J.C. was about loving your enemy and turning the other cheek. He was a socialist pacifist for the most part, quite “liberal” actually, hanging out with whores, criminals, poor people, and other low-lifes. It’s all in there, you just have to read it.

    But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. Matthew 5:39

    But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you. Matthew 5:44

  55. When they ask about guns. Just say, hey you voted for Obama what twice or thrice?
    To bad you did not follow your choice and add your children to the 56 million dead since Roe v Wade……
    Would the world be a better place if your mother had chosen to use a Planned Abortion?
    Correct answer — YES!

  56. In the words of Jesus: “When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house his possessions are safe.” Luke 11:21

  57. Gentlemen, Texans, and in general Good old Boys, Outside of those of you who need to study the Bible more, Old & New Testament, I must say some got entirely off the track. My two oldest were raised with a 12 gauge pump & a 22 rifle sitting on the master bedroom closet floor, and the 12 was loaded. They were both taught you may look with permission but not touch. The closet shelf was to high for me to easily remove the 12 if I had ever needed to. When you teach a child to respect guns, that they are not toys, I
    never had a problem,both served in the army, & my second was asked in basic training ,first day on the range live fire; how long he’d been shooting, answer was today First Sargent, he’d earned his sharp shooters ribbon. Study the History of our Country and Public Schools and you will find out at one time the Bible was Taught in Our Public Schools. The Founders of this great country of ours wrote
    the Bill of Rights for a reason. We are all Blessed that Father God Loved us enough to send His Son to lay out His arms and die the most horrible death currently known to mankind as atonement for our sins yours, mine and everyone else s. Hope you enjoyed, “To conquer a nation First disarm its citizens.” Adolph Hilter

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