Long story short, my wife's Aunt had DFCS called on her. Her home is what some might call a "little less than habitable". She has spoken with the case worker and is pretty confident that he is going to suggest her 10 yr. old daughter be placed with family till she and her husband can make their home a "safe" enviroment for the child. So, my wife suggested that she stays with us for the 30 days they have to fix up their home, but, the case worker will have to come inspect our home also before he OK's the child staying with us. Now, our home is in good shape, no bugs, rats, holes in the roof or toxic waste dumps in the back yard. My only concern is the fact that we have firearms in the home. I know they'll suggest that they be locked up in a safe, but, that's not going to happen with my EDC. It stays on me or by my bed at night. Will they oppose to that? Should I just hide all the guns while he's here and act like a sheep? Any insight from you all will be greatly appreciated.
It might not be a bad idea to increase the level of security of your firearms if you are going to have a child or a person not trained with the use of guns living in your house. That is just good common sense. As far as hiding them, that would be OK but I recommend against lying to the DFAC person. To store away the EDC gun I would use something similar to GunVault to secure the weapon when it is not with you. If the child comes to live with you, then take the chance and teach her about guns and gun safety.
+1 "Hiding" weapons from a child (vs. securing them) is not a safe practice. I don't think DFACS would necessarily frown on weapons being the home, but I guarantee you they will balk at unsecured firearms.
I have a safe that I keep my long guns in, I've just never put my EDC in it because I want it to be readily accesible if needed. My main concern is if he was to ask if we have firearms and I respond yes, then he asks me if I keeped them locked up and I say all but one and it stays on me, will that disqulify us from having temporary custody of the child?
Personally, I would answer it as "locked in the safe or on my person" and leave it at that, if you feel the need to divulge that you choose to practice your 2A rights. In this case though, I wouldn't consider it lying if you were to simply respond to the question of whether they're locked up with a simple "yes" either. I consider my guns just as secure when I'm wearing them as when they're in my safe.
IMO, if the childs best interest is the main concern here (which brittthomas seems to indicate is the case), this might not be the best time exercise your rights in that manner. I'm by no means implying that the gun safe should be hidden or that brittthomas should give up his rights at all, but just saying that in the case of a childs welfare, your RTKBA can take a back seat for a few minutes (in other words, there should be no reason it should come up other than "do you own firearms?" "yes" "are they in a locked safe?" "yes" /done). Just my .02....
It's not a RTKBA thing that I was wondering should I tell him I keep it on me. I've heard that in cases such as these, that case workers are known to do surprise inspections from time to time. It's like I asked my wife, if I tell him I keep them locked up, and one day the case worker just shows up and I'm carrying at the time, would he see my response as they stay locked up as a lie? I feel the same as you do Martin, I consider my sidearm as safe on me as I do locked up, but I don't know if the case worker feels the same.
Maybe instead of answering "yes" you could just a say "the guns are secured at all times"...much like the statment many of us would use when encountering LEO asking about weapons in the car..."there are no illegal weapons in the car". I'm not 100% sure how such things would work, but I'd think that if she's already with you, and the case worker wanted to take her away due to an issue like this, there'd be a legal process for that, you'd be in a court-type setting, where your RTKBA and your right to carry as a GWL holder will hold legal weight--it won't be just about the opinion of the case worker. My guess/hope is that as far as it will need to go is you answering that yes, you have a safe--if it even comes up. Also, I didn't say it earlier, but good on you for helping your wife's aunt, and more imporantly, her kid.
I wouldn't look at it as a lie, you can't use it if it is locked in the safe....so you just happened to be using it that day when he came by unexpected. I keep my wallet in my back pocket. Would you think I was lying if you saw me pull my wallet out of my pocket to pay for something? This might not be the best example, but I think it gets my point across (where you keep something is it's place when it is not in use).
I would go even further and tell the DFCS worker that I would teach the child gun safety, a safety lesson that the child could take wih her everywhere she goes for the rest of her life, , and keep her safe.
Is it really any of their business what you do WITHIN THE LAW? I would answer his question with that question. What if he were to ask you if you watch porn? or ask if you drink alcohol? or maybe ask if you belong to KKK or Black Panthers? Is their power of authority to judge you limitless?
I wouldnt offer any of the info about guns unless asked. If asked your answer should something along the lines of "I have a couple of hunting firearms, but they stay locked away if they arent in my possession." The end.
That's a little excessively self righteous. Are the girl's parents breaking the law? Is leaving a loaded gun in front of an unattended child breaking the law? Come on man, you may as well follow that logic back to asking whether the gov has the right to relocate that child in the first place absent any laws being broken.
Hide them or store with a trusted friend only for the inspection. While a gun safe would be the best option for securing while the child is with you you still need them to be more available in case a home defense situation arises. Cable locks on the ones other than EDC would serve this purpose untill the child can be taught function and use of firearms. At 10 this might take longer than the 30 days allowed. Keep the keys to the lock on you at all times. If you need locks I have several brand new locks I will gladly part with.
I think I'd go with this. And I do think they will ask. I wouldn't even approach anything about carrying nor would I be carrying when they came for the interview. If you are caught carrying later on a surprise inspection I don't believe it will matter. And yes, DFCS are the all powerful bullies when it comes to kids. They can do things to law abiding parents (without prior notice) that you wouldn't believe.
OR... Lock them in the trunk of your car during the inspection and if asked you can honnestly say there are no guns in the house.
You've never dealt with DFACS I take it. You may want to do a lot more homework on the subject before you encounter an agency/medical/judicial complex that gets a funding increase for every child they take from their parents. They are arbitrary, capricious, dissembling, often incompetent devils the whole lot of them.