Quick, answer this question: Where is your concealed-carry firearm right this second? Alternatively, how far away from a loaded gun are you right now?
The answer might actually make you think. We all have different work and home situations and different levels of firearm ownership, so answers will vary widely. And, of course, we all have different priorities and values as it regards how armed we want to be at all times.
At Home
As for me, it’s just me and my husband in my house, plus a college-aged daughter (an accomplished competition shooter) who is home a few weeks a year. I work from home. Because we have no one else in the house, we can safely keep loaded handguns in strategic, hidden-but-not-all-locked places around the living areas and our bedroom, so I am never more than about 12 feet from a firearm. On top of that, we have a 200-yard-long driveway and an alarm that lets me know if anyone is coming down the lane, and I work in the living room, which overlooks the driveway and both entrances. I would have plenty of warning if anyone approached during the day, and we have an alarm system that alerts us if anyone were to open or break a door or window at night.
All that to say, I could get to a gun quickly in almost any circumstance short of being in the shower. That is comforting to me, but I certainly understand that not everyone is interested in or capable of such a high level of access. And of course, many people are not in the position to be this free with their firearms. If your household includes children or anyone else who shouldn’t have access to a firearm, you have to take additional measures to secure everything and make sure the responsible parties are the only ones who can get to the gun(s)—but you want to make sure they can do so quickly in an emergency.
There are a couple of ways to go about this. I know people who wear their concealed-carry firearm around the house, which accomplishes two goals at once: It gives you immediate access to the gun if you ever need it, and it keeps the gun securely under your control and away from unauthorized users. You always know where it is because it’s always with you, making this a very easy, practical solution with one major downside: Comfort. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to wear a belt and a holster while lounging on the couch. If I were in a position where this was the best option for me, I’d be experimenting with other holsters and carry positions, like belly bands, chest rigs or shoulder holsters.
The other way to stay ready and secure at the same time is by using small safes or lockboxes, likely several in different parts of your house. If you can’t safely stash a handgun in the coffee-table drawer like I can, stash a small biometric safe in there with a gun inside it. You’ll have access in seconds.
Out and About
Now, if you’re reading this and you’re not at home, where is your gun right now? There are limited answers to this, primarily:
- On your person
- In your bag
- Locked up (I hope) nearby, like in your office or car
- At home
The first answer is perfect—no notes. The second answer is acceptable as long as you’re in control of your bag at all times or have a way to secure it when you’re not.
The third answer, in your office or car, is in the “it depends” category. If you’re stuck in an HR meeting and your gun is in a locker or a locked drawer in your office, OK. If it’s in your purse in an unlocked drawer, we have a problem. If it’s in your car…well, this is a topic for another article, but suffice it to say that stealing guns from vehicles is among the top ways criminals obtain firearms illegally. I don’t like leaving guns in cars for any longer than it takes to run into the post office. If you’re going to do it, invest in some kind of lockbox that secures to the vehicle so it can’t be easily carried off.
If your answer is number 4, you’re out and about and your gun is at home, you’ll get no judgement from me. Not all of us want to carry every time we leave the house—I do sometimes and sometimes not, depending on where I’m going and who I’m with (like my husband, who is always carrying). Just make the choice deliberately and with eyes wide open and be willing to live with your decision, come what may.
The At-Home Alternative
And, of course, there’s another option when you’re home: Just don’t worry so much about it. Carry your gun when you want to and leave it in the safe when you don’t. The fact is that the odds of home invasion are very low, particularly if you don’t live a high-risk lifestyle or live in a high-crime neighborhood. Chances are you’ll never need to defend yourself in your own home, so while we fully support your right to be armed and ready at all times, you might decide your comfort level is somewhere south of my gun-within-12-feet standard.
We all have to decide what works best for our situation and our peace of mind, but I encourage you to think through the options and consider how you might maintain quick access to a firearm if you ever need it. Think about it: Though the odds are low you’ll ever face this scenario, if you’re watching a movie in your basement man-cave and your only gun is locked up in an upstairs bedroom, you’ve got a really long way to go to arm yourself if someone kicks in your front door. Remember: A gun you can’t get to when you need it is of no use at all.
