There Is No “Safe” Way to Store a Gun Around Kids - Only Tradeoffs

The comments on my last video were wild. (This video)
Some people said, “Locking a gun is irresponsible.”
Others fired back with, “If it’s not locked, you’re reckless.”
Welcome to the internet — where everything is absolute, and nuance goes to die.

Here’s the uncomfortable truth most people don’t want to admit: They’re all kind of right… and also incomplete.

When you have kids and firearms in the same house, there is no zero-risk option. There are only tradeoffs. Every choice reduces one risk while increasing another. Pretending otherwise doesn’t make you safer — it just makes you dishonest about the risk you’re accepting.

This isn’t an anti-gun post. This isn’t a “one right way” sermon.
This is about responsible ownership, real-world parenting, and making adult decisions when the stakes are high.

The Lie of the “Perfect Answer”

One of the most dangerous things in the gun safety conversation is false certainty.

People love clean answers:
“Just train your kids.”
“Just lock it up.”
“Just keep it on you at all times.”

The problem? None of those are complete solutions.

I said it in the video, and I’ll say it again here:
None of the options are perfect.

If you’re honest, you already know this. Because real life isn’t a forum argument — it’s kids waking up early, friends coming over unannounced, routines getting disrupted, and exhaustion setting in.

Certainty feels good, but responsibility requires nuance.

Camp #1: “Train Your Kids and You Don’t Have to Worry”

Let’s start here, because this one gets mischaracterized fast.
Teaching your kids firearm safety is critical. - Full stop.

If you own guns and don’t educate your kids, you’re already failing the responsibility test. Age-appropriate training, repetition, and modeling respect for firearms should be non-negotiable.

But here’s the line people don’t want to cross: Education alone doesn’t stop curiosity.

Especially with young kids — 2, 3, 4, 5 years old — curiosity is literally how their brains are wired. And even if your kid listens perfectly (spoiler: they don’t), what about:
Their friends? Cousins? Kids from families that don’t teach firearm safety?

This is where reality punches through ideology. - According to data from the CDC, roughly 75% of firearms used in unintentional child injury deaths were stored loaded and unlocked.

That’s not politics. That’s not vibes. That’s consequences.

This is how accidents happen. This is how nightmare stories start. This is how guns end up in elementary schools. If your plan is “my kids know better”, you’re not eliminating risk — you’re just betting everything on obedience and luck.

And kids are terrible bets.
Kids Don’t Think in Permanence — Adults Have To

Here’s another uncomfortable truth that often gets left out of the “just train your kids” argument:

Young kids and teenagers are biologically bad at understanding permanence.

Their brains are still developing impulse control, emotional regulation, and long-term consequence awareness. That’s not an insult — that’s neuroscience and lived parenting experience.

When kids are overwhelmed, embarrassed, angry, or scared, they don’t always see tomorrow. They see right now.

That’s why adults talk about kids making permanent solutions to temporary problems:
A moment of shame, a fight at school, bullying, a bad grade, feeling trapped or misunderstood

In those moments, education alone doesn’t always protect them — distance does.
This isn’t about assuming your kid is “bad” or “unstable.” It’s about acknowledging that kids make emotional decisions, not calculated ones.

Teaching firearm safety matters. So does recognizing that even a well-trained child can have a bad day. Responsible storage isn’t about mistrust — it’s about buffering your child from a decision they can’t undo.

Camp #2: “Locks Don’t Work Anyway”

This one might be my favorite — mostly because of the confidence.

There were comments claiming their 3- or 4-year-old would:
Watch the Lock Picking Lawyer, climb a shelf, pick a lock, and access the firearm 🙄
Look — no consumer lock is impenetrable. That’s true. A determined adult with time, tools, and motivation can defeat almost anything.

But let’s be clear about something: A lock doesn’t eliminate risk — it changes which risk you’re accepting. Yes, a lock might slow you down in a worst-case scenario. Yes, a thief might defeat it if no one’s home.

But is the argument really that leaving a gun unlocked is safer? That logic collapses fast.

If someone breaks in while you’re gone and steals a locked firearm, that’s a problem — but at least your kids weren’t there. At least no one accidentally found it at 6am while you were asleep.

A lock isn’t just about stopping curiosity — it’s about slowing down moments of impulse, when a child isn’t thinking clearly or long-term.
Locks aren’t about perfection. They’re about layers.
And dismissing them entirely usually says more about convenience than safety.

Camp #3: “Bad Guys Won’t Wait”

This is the hardest camp to dismiss — because there’s truth here. - Speed does matter

If you live in a high-risk area, work a dangerous job, or have credible threats, access time is a real consideration. Anyone pretending otherwise is lying to themselves.

But here’s the line that matters just as much:
So does not having your kid find your gun at 6am.

This was the entire point of the original video.

As gun owners — especially dads — we often sacrifice safety for speed without admitting that’s what we’re doing. Sometimes that tradeoff makes sense. Sometimes it doesn’t. I  read a comment from a guy who switches to a thigh holster when he gets home because it’s more comfortable on the couch. I don’t know his life. I don’t know his risks.

But I do know this. - That’s someone thinking about access and safety at the same time.
The gun is on his person. It’s controlled. - It’s not sitting on a counter waiting for small hands. - That’s not reckless. That’s situational awareness.

The Balanced Reality: Responsibility Is Situational
Here’s the part that frustrates people who want clean answers:
Responsible ownership is not ideological. It’s situational.
Where you live matters. Who comes into your home matters. Your kids’ ages matter. Your lifestyle matters.

There are dozens of storage options:
Wall-mounted safes, Biometric access, Concealment furniture, On-body carry at home
None are perfect and some work better in certain scenarios than others.
And yes — some are expensive.

I saw a lot of comments complaining about price. My take is simple:

That’s the cost of responsibility. - Buying a gun you can’t safely store is like buying a car you can’t insure and hoping nothing happens. Hope is not a strategy.

Let’s land this plane.

Whatever camp you fall into: Train your kids and don’t lock it, locks don’t work, bad guys won’t wait.
Just do one thing: Own the risk you’re choosing. Don’t pretend it doesn’t exist.

Being a prepared dad isn’t about pretending danger isn’t real.
It’s about acknowledging it — and making adult decisions anyway.

The question isn’t “What’s the perfect solution?”
The question is:
What kind of dad do you want to be when things go wrong? Prepared? Honest Accountable?

That’s the standard.