Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion What would you do?

I hate guns, but I wouldn't worry about this. I don't know. I live in an area of the country where guns are common. DS's school is near a pawn shop. I'm sure it sells guns. I've never given it a thought.

(My personal bugaboos involve my kids and cars or water.)

The risk that a psychopath would purchase a gun and take it next door to shoot up a school, just because it happened to be in close proximity, is insignificant. In fact, I can't find a news article on such an event happening, ever. Schools do sometimes become targets for criminals, but not so much random targets. I understand fear of guns, but since they're nearly omnipresent in American society, I think avoiding a school on the basis of a nearby legit gun store would be irrational.

What you should be concerned with, if you're worried about guns, is whether a school has a good emergency plan in place, whether your child knows what to do in an emergency, and whether he knows what to do if he's around a gun.

I often joked that I would consider myself a failure as a father if my children could not field-strip their weapons *blind-folded* by the age of six.

Thankfully, my better judgement prevailed... and I removed the blind-fold requirement. (Don't want to scare the townfolk, you know.)

Seriously, though, and without taking the bait, I think you should spend some time reading about background of violence in schools, and be sure to include the Secret Service's "Safe School's Initiative" 2002 report, as it makes for some interesting reading:
http://www.secretservice.gov/ntac/ssi_final_report.pdf

Bottom line: I would be more concerned about the school's handling of bullying than what's on sale at the local Big 5.

I agree.

The police would know if they often have trouble with that particular shop. That's all.

I would ask them if they have trouble with that shop or its customers. They would know best if it were a dangerous spot.

LOL.

What would I do?

Drop in and check out what they had for sale!

More than likely the shop is owned by an ex-cop and many of the local LEOs buy stuff there.

And everyone who buys guns there is either a CHL holder with an extensive background check or has gone through a FBI background check. A very dangerous place to be sure.

I trained troops in the Army and trained a lot of people in civilian life. All the people in my classes or the classes I've been to have been great people - doctors, dentists, nurses, lawyers, pastors, priests, moms, teachers, dads, cops, judges, elected officials, military, you name it. These are the kind of people who go to that shop. Awful people for sure.

Personally, I think you are operating from a lack of knowledge about guns, the gun industry, and the people that own guns. Worrying about a gun shop is like worrying about a pharmacy because they sell drugs or a car dealership because they sell getaway cars.

My recommendation would be to take a class or two in firearm safety and firearms use from a good instructor. No doubt that store could help you out. Then you would be more informed than you are now.

I came across these articles concerning gun laws about the location of gun stores and gun ranges being allowed/not being allowed close to schools, residential areas etc. Both articles and the comments after the second article contain both points of view. You are definitely not the only one concerned about guns being close to a school.

"In suburbs, gun range and shop expansions near Chicago trigger debate
City's regulations push enthusiasts out of town, spark safety concerns"
July 16, 2012|By Jonathan Bullington, Chicago Tribune reporter

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/...ange-shooting-range-gun-rights-advocates

Towards the end of this article it discuss a law that bands not only gun ranges but gun stores from a half mile of schools, parks, etc



"Lincolnwood 'Quietly' OKs Firing Range, Gun Shop"

http://skokie.patch.com/articles/li...range-gun-shop-near-schools#pdf-10350880

Some interesting comments arguing both sides of the argument of gun store ranges being close to schools etc.


I'm not sure what I think

The best arguments are the facts.

The article is from Chicago where most guns are banned. There are virtually no gun shops in Chicago proper yet it has the highest rate of gun crime in the nation. There are dozens of murders every week in the summer.

I'd look for articles in states that actually have lots of guns and are gun friendly. Like Texas or Arizona. You won't find any articles because it is a non-issue in those states.

You won't find any articles like these...

http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/09/28/texas.university.shooting/?hpt=T2

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Whitman

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/03/02/us-usa-shooting-arizona-idUSTRE82108E20120302

http://www.azcentral.com/community/...g-phoenix-middle-school-no-injuries.html