Or any parent who doesn't safely store their guns so their children can't access them! It's not like it's so difficult in this day and age - you can get a gun safe that would be difficult to impossible for a teenager to break into. One that's fingerprint activated, etc. If you really feel you need one in your room for self-defense, there are even single-gun fingerprint cases, that you can keep inside a bedside table or something.
There really is no justification for not keeping guns locked away from kids. Studies show that teenagers can develop a suicidal plan in a matter of minutes, and exhibit very little signs beforehand. Odds are so, so much higher that your child could be harmed by that gun (whether it's suicide, accident, or violence) than that you will ever successfully defend yourself with the weapon. Odds are probably higher you'll shoot someone who doesn't deserve it too, if you are that level of gun nut. If you respond to every vaguely threatening sound or even non-threatening sound with a gun. There was a recent case in the news of a man being arrested because he shot a young boy in the back who was playing Ding Dong Ditch. And I got in an argument on Facebook because I was like "Who answers every knock, even at a weird hour or even if it sounds aggressive, with a gun?" And some lady fired back that her husband would "because he WILL ALWAYS PROTECT HIS FAMILY AND I CAN HOLD HANDS WITH A BURGLAR IF I WANT" and it's just like...how is this the dichotomy?! There are so many options that don't involve guns. The minute you decide you need to respond to every vaguely possibly scary noise with a gun, you are opening yourself up to end up the one who gets arrested because you shot a kid in the back for no good reason. Because clearly, your risk assessment skills are skewed. I had a guy in my backyard once when I was living in NC - no good reason to be there, I had a fence, it was nearly midnight. Sure, I was scared. But the doors were locked, there was a bar on the back door, and literally all I had to do was get my dog and turn on the back light. My dog was beside me and she saw the guy when the light came on and started barking, and he BOOKED IT. Positively flew back over the fence. I was fine, and no one got shot. Just by turning on the light. Lethal force should be the LAST option, not the first.
