Armed woman protects her home

[PaJ]

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Another North Houston report near where I live. There is almost always someone at home at my house. Even that apparently doesn't deter the bad guys anymore. Now I am reconsidering my stance on locking up all of the weapons at home. My youngest is 15. All four have shot but under very close supervision. Maybe an unloaded weapon would be enough for them to scare someone away without creating a safety issue?? I am not comfortable with them having a loaded weapon, but I am not comfortable with them having nothing at all either.

[Javier730]

Even though just having a firearm pointed at them may deter 95% of criminals, you do not want to take a chance by leaving all of them unloaded. What is going to happen when you or one of your family members is pointing an unloaded weapon at an intruder and the intruder begins to pull out his? Can you or your family members load the firearm and fire before a bad guy pulls his out and fires. Probably not. I cannot tell you what to do but I would try keeping at least one loaded somewhere that a curious child cant get to it and train everyone in your household in proper firearm safety and handling.

[SRH78]

This is a question that only you can really answer. We don't know how responsible your 15 year old is. If you are confident in how you raised your child and they have proven themselves to be responsible and trustworthy, I see nothing wrong with providing them the means to protect themselves. If they haven't or if they often have friends over that could cause issues, that is another matter entirely.

[Abraham]

I've trained my granddaughters in firearms, both safety and shooting. They're both excellent shots.

They are highly responsible too. They're both teenagers.

If they became the target of some criminal, I'd want them to have access to weapons to defend themselves.

They are well versed in right and wrong.

[Jim Beaux]

I dont mean to sound flip but you are misplacing your trust. The choices are - trust your kids, trust that nothing will ever happen, or trust that a bad guy isnt so bad after all.

Drill them, let them shoot more, discuss safety, tactics and hiding spots.

IE:

1. Stay calm & get the gun.
2. Gather your siblings.
3. Leave the house if you can or hide if you cant.
4. Call 911
5. Stay concealed & let the bg have anything he wants.

All a parent can do is teach & prepare our kids to the best of our abilities.

[PaJ]

Thanks for the replies And observations. All good points to ponder. Maybe a bit of my concern is because i know how i acted at that age. on the other hand I had weapons and ammo in my bedroom and knew how to handle that responsibility.

have two 15 year olds and two 17 olds still at home. All are "good kids", but they still have teenage minds. When my wife or I are around we have a loaded weapon on us or nearby.

Honestly my kids all have some knowledge of shooting and gun safety, but not enough that I am comfortable with them handling a loaded weapon...especially in an emergency situation.

The best answer is more training. No doubt about it. But it will take time for that training to be effective. In the meantime I can think of things that we can reinforce that will be immediately effective such as setting the alarm when they are home alone.

[VMI77]

I think the most important step is to educate them on the legal and appropriate use of deadly force. Personally, any kid I couldn't trust with a loaded gun I wouldn't trust with an unloaded gun. When my sons were legally able to access a gun at home they knew where to find one and how and when to use it.