Why Wearing a Gun in
the Home is a Good Idea

A staple meme on the gun-related Internet forums seems to be, “If you carry more firepower than I do, you’re paranoid, and if you carry less than I do, you’re a pathetic sheeple.” Nowhere does this manifest itself more than in discussion threads on “home carry,” that is, wearing a handgun on your person when at home.

One poster comments he keeps a gun in his pocket or on his hip at home. Another writes, “Where do you live, Fallujah? I’d hate to be as paranoid as you!” And the argument is on. A second person will comment, “I just keep a loaded gun stashed in every room. Why carry at home?” And the next guy will say, “You’ve got a gun in every room, and you call someone else paranoid?” Well…

Balancing Responsibilities

The responsibly armed household has to balance quick accessibility of a loaded firearm in a sudden, life-threatening emergency against the obvious need to keep that weapon secure from the unauthorized hands of little kids, irresponsible adults, and the burglars themselves. If the stored or staged gun is even in a quick release safe, there’s going to be the matter of swiftly and surely unlocking the little vault, perhaps in the dark and with hands shaking from adrenaline. Some hands are simply not compatible with biometric safes. Getting across even an average size den or bedroom to the storage location takes considerably more time than the practiced movement of drawing it from a holster already strapped to the body.

I figured out a long time ago the simplest way to keep a loaded gun instantly accessible and simultaneously keep it out of unauthorized hands was to keep it loaded and holstered on my person. .....