Guns and girlfriends

[st8fan19]

Something I have been thinking about lately and need the wise input of DC.

I have only been a gun owner for a couple of months now. Seeing as I cannot legally carry yet as I am not quite 21 I keep my pistol in my nightstand. I am a single 20 year old male who lives with a female friend of mine (yes just friend, haha) in an apartment. There are no children around. Occasionally I will have female friends spend the night and well you understand what I'm getting at.

One thing that is different I feel for my situation is that I do not need to have the conversation about letting a girl know I am carrying, as I can't yet. So this is where I feel it gets different and tricky. If I could carry then she would know that there is a gun in the apartment. But since I can't she wouldn't know at all.

What I am wondering is how everyone feels about the need to inform someone who is spending the night about the gun in the drawer next to the bed.

When do you feel it is necessary to inform someone about the gun? Should this be something that is talked about at all? Only after something consistant is established with her? My fear is that if I do not let her knowthat for one reason or another she will take a peek in the drawer and see what is in there and be completely freaked out. We all know how the can be at times, especially if they were completely unaware that it was even a possibility.

So friends of DC, what do you think? And how have some of you handled this in your lives.

Thanks for all your help

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[NC Bullseye]

Do you feel the need to inform them of what brand of motor oil you use? How about what brand of air freshener? If you can't trust a sleep over not to go plundering then lock it up prior. There's nothing evil in owning a firearm. Why act like there is?

The more you act like it's something not normal the more the sheep worry.

[C9H13NO3]

I wouldn't say anything. It's not the end of the world, and a huge percentage of the population at least has a gun in the home.

[retsupt99]

Tell her all YOUR secrets, when she tells you all HERS.

[seanhodges]

Some things are best left unsaid

[BukWild]

your house, no obligation to tell them anything....

[Bark'n]

Only you can know the emotional maturity of those you date or have over. It is definitely your call to make. However, don't think for a minute that people aren't nosy and that an overnight guest wouldn't poke around looking in your bedside drawers.

If she discovers the gun in your nightstand, you may end up discussing it before you had originally intended.

The other issue is, are you sure you can trust these people to be near a loaded gun if they discover it on their own while snooping around?

Not everyone is a snoop and go poking around, but don't just automatically afford them the luxury of believing they aren't one either. I may be an old fart at 48 but I have come to believe that over the years, a lot of today's "younger generation" have little respect for other people or their privacy. Heck that actually applies to people of all ages really, not just young people.

Bear in mind that a loaded gun inside a nightstand drawer is essentially an "unsecured gun." You may want to consider using a gun lock or some other method of securing it when you have guests over at the house.

[Bunny]

I don't see the need to tell anyone what's in your nightstand drawer.

[Arko]

If your guest isn't emotionally mature enough not to A) sneek a peek or B) Not freak out if she does, she probably isn't really emotionally mature enough to handle the type of relationship you're implying either.

Keep it quiet, and/or date farther up the maturity ladder, IMO.

[Bark'n]

If your guest isn't emotionally mature enough not to A) sneek a peek or B) Not freak out if she does, she probably isn't really emotionally mature enough to handle the type of relationship you're implying either.

Keep it quiet, and/or date farther up the maturity ladder, IMO.

+1 on that Arko! I agree 100%

[Geno]

Since you asked...Secure your gun under lock and key, period. As to how you secure it, well there are a number of options out there so you will have to decide how fast you think you need to acess it. The last thing you need is an accidental shooting with your gun.

[raytracer]

My only concern would be that, as others have said, simply putting it in the nightstand drawer it is unsecured. If she does snoop and finds it, she may or may not know any firearms safety. There's a very good chance she'll pick it up - finger on trigger, pointing every-which-way; just as Hollywood has taught her - and ask "Is this real?".

For "casual" overnight guests, I'd advocate locking it up in some fashion. If it's a girl you might want to get serious with, then you might want to bring it up.

Anyone spending any amount of time under your roof with an unsecured firearm needs to know, at the very minimum, better than to fool around with it. Ideally, they should know the four rules and how to make it safe should something happen to you.

Joe

[razor02097]

Girls like dangerous guys



seriously though what has already been said is what I would have. Secure the pistol and the gun.

[Hot Wing]

No tell at this time

[Arko]

+1 on that Arko! I agree 100%

But then again, would WE have listened to advice like that at 20 Bark?