Safe storage of firearms
The two safest places for a gun, in order:
- Locked in a good, strong safe.
- Holstered in a premium material molded specifically to the make/model you carry.
Nowhere else.
A good, strong safe is simple to find, but requires an investment up front. Assuming you are interested only in shorter arms, such as handguns, the price of reliable pistol safes hovers between $100 and $200. Make sure you get one that is either too heavy to move without a dolly or can be affixed to some permanent structural component/furniture.
Finding a good holster, on the other hand, is a much more difficult endeavor to tackle. There are hundreds if not thousands of them out there, ranging in price from $20 to $200. Some are made of "kydex"; some are made of leather; still others are made from neoprene. All are designed for only a couple carry positions. It is a guarantee that you will find one that you cannot comfortably wear, and returns are rarely accepted. Read reviews: the internet is your friend.
Beware of leaving your pistol in your car. Sometimes it is necessary, as you may have to run errands at legally prohibited premises. Your car is not a safe, plan accordingly.
Keeping children safe from household firearms is not difficult, but it does require planning.
Despite what you may hear, childhood and adolescent firearm casualties are extremely rare, as the vast majority are either intentional suicides, or take place during voluntary involvement in organized violent crime. In both cases, a stolen firearm illegally obtained by underage hands is the almost always the culprit. For this reason, avoiding a tragic accident requires only two things:
- A good, strong safe.
- Committing oneself to some strict household rules.
The first requirement is simple (see above). Since 2000, it has been codified in Michigan law that all legally purchased firearms must be accompanied by a trigger-lock. While these do not adequately prevent theft, they can and do prevent small hands from loading and firing a firearm.
The second requirement necessitates a moderate level of discipline in addition to some planning. Ensuring that all firearms are kept locked up and in a safe at all times when not holstered, transported, or cleaned is easier said than done.
- Build the muscle memory associated with walking a firearm directly to your safe after getting home.
- Clear your firearm every time you retrieve it from and return it to the safe, even if there was a trigger-guard in it two seconds ago.
- Establish rules with your children about when (not) to discuss firearms with strangers, how far they must stay from a safe when it is open, and the four cardinal rules of firearm handling.