I watch LockPickingLawyer on YouTube, and it seems every gun lock/safe has some gaping security issue, and many that I see at stores that haven't been covered look like they'd have similar issues.
So until I find something that LPL would approve for use around kids, I'm not buying a handgun.
That said, I'll probably get a small rifle soon (probably 22lr) that I can store in the attic. My kids could find it, it would take a lot of effort and it isn't that interesting. I mostly want it to teach my kids to shoot "real" guns (they've shot BB guns) and maybe go hunt some rabbits. I may also get a 22lr pistol, but that's a bit higher on the "cool" factor and thus higher risk.
If I find a lock that I can trust, I might pick up a 9mm or .357 for personal use. I've taken my wife shooting, and she really liked it, so I'd like to take her out to fed land and shoot sometimes. If I did, I'd get a CCW (unnecessary in my state, but necessary for travel) and carry sometimes when I go out to get comfortable with it. But the lock comes first.
egress and alarm with one action?
Our muster point for most emergencies is right out front of our building, in full view of the front doors and windows where the shooter is likely to be. Our active shooter muster point (blue light alarm) is across the street behind the building in a parking garage (can see from the rear balcony, but there's a place to hide).
If I trigger the fire alarm, people will go right into the shooter's path. If someone else pulls it (far more likely), I would go right out front into the shooter's path. The alarm would also increase the shooter's stress level, which could be the difference between them shooting and not.
having trouble visualizing
It's an office building built into a hill. The front is ground level and the rear has a ledge/balcony about 2 floors above the rear ground level that runs the length of the building in either direction. One side of the building has a parking garage, and the other has the truck loading zone down one level. Here's some crappy ASCII art (top is front, I work bottom right, t is truck loading, p is parking garage, XX is building, and | and - are the railing).
t | XXp
|---|
I work near the parking garage, and the no-alarm exit is ~2/3 of the way across the building toward the truck loading zone. From there, I can either run back to the parking garage (lots of windows), or toward the truck loading zone (some windows, drop onto cement).
since it would be illegal
It's not a gun free zone, it's merely against company policy and probably landlord policy. There is no posted signage, but I did need to sign something when I started acknowledging that I understand the rules. So violation wouldn't result in a criminal case, but it could result in my termination and/or official trespass order.
It's possible some people here carry (constitutional carry state), but given company policy, that number is probably pretty low. I would certainly risk violating that rule if I believed there was an elevated risk, like we fired someone over culture fit reasons (I'd probably just WFH honestly), otherwise I'd comply.
Yeah he's the best, and you're right. Be careful btw, .22lr is just as deadly as any other caliber and is also still pretty cool for someone sheltered away from them, that teaching and hunting will likely be more effective and remove the mystery.
Ah yeah that puts a damper on the alarm for sure lol.
Oh ok I can see it now.
And well good there's no posted signage, likely (depending on state) that means their ban has no teeth and is only actionable by firing which of course still sucks but it's better than dying. Hell, you're lucky you can WFH, I'd just do that as often as possible anyway haha.
Yup, WFH is great. Company policy is 3 days in office, but we're discussing for our department to go back to 2. We also have a department culture of WFH being viable with even a small excuse (e.g. waiting for an important package is sufficient), so something like "I don't feel safe because worker X got fired" would absolutely be acceptable.
And yeah, I know .22lr is deadly, but it has low enough recoil that I can teach even young kids to use it (three under 10), and basic gun safety should be enough to keep it from becoming lethal (don't look down the barrel, don't point at people, etc). Our family gun rules will be very simple: if you touch the gun without permission, you lose shooting privileges. And even if I store it in the attic (they'd need to move a heavy ladder to get to it), I'll keep it secured with a trigger lock and only store ammo separately in a safe (not very secure, but better than nothing).
One day I hope to carry a handgun because I want to be prepared. But preparedness is more than personal safety, it also includes safety for my job and kids. So either the gun would always be with me (impractical), I need to trust my kids (I don't), or it needs to be secure (haven't found a lock I trust). Maybe in a few years.
I watch LockPickingLawyer on YouTube, and it seems every gun lock/safe has some gaping security issue, and many that I see at stores that haven't been covered look like they'd have similar issues.
So until I find something that LPL would approve for use around kids, I'm not buying a handgun.
That said, I'll probably get a small rifle soon (probably 22lr) that I can store in the attic. My kids could find it, it would take a lot of effort and it isn't that interesting. I mostly want it to teach my kids to shoot "real" guns (they've shot BB guns) and maybe go hunt some rabbits. I may also get a 22lr pistol, but that's a bit higher on the "cool" factor and thus higher risk.
If I find a lock that I can trust, I might pick up a 9mm or .357 for personal use. I've taken my wife shooting, and she really liked it, so I'd like to take her out to fed land and shoot sometimes. If I did, I'd get a CCW (unnecessary in my state, but necessary for travel) and carry sometimes when I go out to get comfortable with it. But the lock comes first.
Our muster point for most emergencies is right out front of our building, in full view of the front doors and windows where the shooter is likely to be. Our active shooter muster point (blue light alarm) is across the street behind the building in a parking garage (can see from the rear balcony, but there's a place to hide).
If I trigger the fire alarm, people will go right into the shooter's path. If someone else pulls it (far more likely), I would go right out front into the shooter's path. The alarm would also increase the shooter's stress level, which could be the difference between them shooting and not.
It's an office building built into a hill. The front is ground level and the rear has a ledge/balcony about 2 floors above the rear ground level that runs the length of the building in either direction. One side of the building has a parking garage, and the other has the truck loading zone down one level. Here's some crappy ASCII art (top is front, I work bottom right, t is truck loading, p is parking garage, XX is building, and | and - are the railing).
t | XX p |---|I work near the parking garage, and the no-alarm exit is ~2/3 of the way across the building toward the truck loading zone. From there, I can either run back to the parking garage (lots of windows), or toward the truck loading zone (some windows, drop onto cement).
It's not a gun free zone, it's merely against company policy and probably landlord policy. There is no posted signage, but I did need to sign something when I started acknowledging that I understand the rules. So violation wouldn't result in a criminal case, but it could result in my termination and/or official trespass order.
It's possible some people here carry (constitutional carry state), but given company policy, that number is probably pretty low. I would certainly risk violating that rule if I believed there was an elevated risk, like we fired someone over culture fit reasons (I'd probably just WFH honestly), otherwise I'd comply.
Yeah he's the best, and you're right. Be careful btw, .22lr is just as deadly as any other caliber and is also still pretty cool for someone sheltered away from them, that teaching and hunting will likely be more effective and remove the mystery.
Ah yeah that puts a damper on the alarm for sure lol.
Oh ok I can see it now.
And well good there's no posted signage, likely (depending on state) that means their ban has no teeth and is only actionable by firing which of course still sucks but it's better than dying. Hell, you're lucky you can WFH, I'd just do that as often as possible anyway haha.
Yup, WFH is great. Company policy is 3 days in office, but we're discussing for our department to go back to 2. We also have a department culture of WFH being viable with even a small excuse (e.g. waiting for an important package is sufficient), so something like "I don't feel safe because worker X got fired" would absolutely be acceptable.
And yeah, I know .22lr is deadly, but it has low enough recoil that I can teach even young kids to use it (three under 10), and basic gun safety should be enough to keep it from becoming lethal (don't look down the barrel, don't point at people, etc). Our family gun rules will be very simple: if you touch the gun without permission, you lose shooting privileges. And even if I store it in the attic (they'd need to move a heavy ladder to get to it), I'll keep it secured with a trigger lock and only store ammo separately in a safe (not very secure, but better than nothing).
One day I hope to carry a handgun because I want to be prepared. But preparedness is more than personal safety, it also includes safety for my job and kids. So either the gun would always be with me (impractical), I need to trust my kids (I don't), or it needs to be secure (haven't found a lock I trust). Maybe in a few years.
Hell yeah sounds like a good plan.