Legal question about giving my parents a copy of my gun safe keys.

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Crosshair

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For those who don't know, I live at home with my parents. (Yes, a 22 year old living with his parents, I've heard the jokes.:rolleyes: )My gun safe (more of a heavy duty gun cabinet) is in my room. They have been pestering me to give them a copy of my safe keys. I have all my guns, my C&R bound book, as well as my C&R license and copies of it in this locked cabinet. I am very uneasy about doing this because I am responsible for my guns as well as my records that are in there.

I really don't want to give them a set of the keys. Are there any legal ramifications if I where to give them a set? I really don't think that the ATF would take kindly to having someone other than me having free access to my C&R license and bound book, not to mention all the C&R guns that I have. I really want to have a better reason than "I don't wana" to give to them when I say no to them. So what does everyone else think? I don't get a set of keys to my dads gun cabinet or the combination to his safe, so why should I give them a copy of my gun safe keys?

/SOOOOO embarrassed right now.:eek: :eek: :eek:
//I love my parents, but sometimes I wish they would leave me alone.
///Trying to do the "Live at home for cheap" thing as long as possible.
////I have to clean the house tomorrow so I can get my spotting scope back.:(
 
You've got it backwards, Ace. It's their house. You're under their roof. They make the rules. Don't like it? Get a job. Buy a house. Stop mooching off mommy and daddy.

But if you choose to mooch, cough up a set of keys.
 
P&R... might not be that simple in this case. You might want to check with the ATF, and see if they have any regs concerning someone other than the licensee having ready access to the guns and bound book. Heck, if you want, I'll give my local guys a call tomorrow (done it more than once: one of these days, i think i owe the Milwaukee ATFE boys lunch)...
 
Well first off you living there is between you and your parents and none of my business . As a matter of fact I was 22 when I moved out , I had been employed full time since I was 17 , the basement was mine including a seperate entrance and I paid them $40 a week rent .

As far as your gun safe goes why do they want a key ? Do they fear they may need a gun for home protection ? If you didn't have a CR license I would say give them one unless one or both of your parents have a criminal record , if they did you would be providing a criminal with a firearm and this is a crime in itself . No I am not insinuating that your parents are criminals just stating facts here .

If they want a gun for defense I would suggest you make a present of one along with a cheap safe such as a Homak or Stack-On . Other than home defense I see no reason why they would even WANT a key , it isn't like if the house caught fire they would worry about saving some guns , would they ?
 
My dad has his own gun safe and several guns so HD is not an issue. Neither of them have criminal records. As much as I love my mom, she is a nosey person sometimes and my dad just goes along with it.(Everyone has their faults.) My mom has no reason, in my mind, to have a set of keys, but she keeps asking anyway. I have been reading my "Big book of gun laws" that the ATF sent me when I got my C&R. Have not found anything yet, but I am still mostly worried about doing something illegal by giving them a set. The other reason being that I don't want my guns getting dinged up from her snooping around. (Especialy my 1907 Brazilian Mauser.)
 
Personally, I'd ask my mom why she'd want to look through it when I'm not around. (I love my mom, but she was a snoop, too, back when I lived with my folks. :)

I suggest a compromise: let your mother know that, any time you are around, she can ask to look through your safe and you will let her, no questions asked. This will also allow you the opportunity to rescue your mauser. :)
 
The only legal issue would be if either one of them is not legally allowed to possess a firearm. This could be because they don't meet the federal criteria or if there is some state criteria, like the Illinois Firearms Owners ID card, that they don't meet. Of course, if they do have access to your C&R and bound book, they shouldn't make any entries in the book or order any guns.

That notwithstanding, I don't see any legal issues. I'm not a lawyer though, so if your really concerned, contact one in your state.
 
There is nothing in the federal laws that prevents your parents from having access to the firearms you currently own, including your C&R firearms and records. In fact, you can order C&R guns while away and have your parents sign for the guns and log them for you.

The only federal law that would prevent your parents access to your safe would be if you own any NFA firearms. These may be stored at your parents house, but no one other than you can have access.
 
Give them a key that doesn't work. :evil:

If they confront you about it, you can ask "Gee, why did you want to access my safe when I wasn't there? Were you going to do something you didn't want me to know about?"
 
They have a right and a legal responsibility to know everything that's going on under their roof. Period and end of story.
 
Have you asked your mom why she thinks she needs to get in that safe? I'd start there. She probably thinks you are hiding porn or drugs in there or something else. Mom's stay awake at night worrying about crap like that...even when their son is 22.

Greg
 
Their house, their rules.

I have a C&R & my wife has access to all my firearms.
 
WeedWhacker

Personally, I'd ask my mom why she'd want to look through it when I'm not around. (I love my mom, but she was a snoop, too, back when I lived with my folks. :)

I suggest a compromise: let your mother know that, any time you are around, she can ask to look through your safe and you will let her, no questions asked. This will also allow you the opportunity to rescue your mauser. :)
Click to expand...
Concur. Tell them 'any time you'd like to see inside, I'll be happy to open it for you.'

And move.
 
Well I fully encourage people to stay at home a little bit and built up some cash before moving out. The cost of living is only going up and theres no reason to start with the disantage of being in a ton of debt unless you have to.

However:
////I have to clean the house tomorrow so I can get my spotting scope back.
Click to expand...
to me sounds like your parents are taking your toys away because you're not acting like a big boy. Thats disgraceful to you if its true. If your parents are nice enough to let you live there when you're 22, be helpful. Sweep the house, take care of your share of the groceries...don't be a burden any longer and take more from them than a bedroom.
 
Some of these replies remind me of the story of the Knight, when going off to do battle, put a Chastity belt on his wife. Then, in the event he didn't make it back, he entrusted the key to his dearest friend. A few hours later the friend galloped uo and said, "The key doesn't fit."
 
Yea Soybomb, The main reason that it was "taken" is that I left it out on the table too long on top of her stuff. I also messed up the wireless access point trying to secure it a few weeks ago (5 people leeching off our cable internet and making it slow) and left her unable to use her iBook for work for a few hours while I was tweaking seurity settings. She has a PC in the basement that is hardwired to the router (I wired our house with 10/100 ethernet while I was in high school) that she could have used but she LOVES her iBook.

Working full time (Actualy working 43 hours the last two weeks) as well as studying for finals means that sometimes other stuff gets put on the back burner at home. Since school is done I hope that I can get some stuff done around the house now. Just got the entry cleaned, swept the rugs, and vacumed the basement steps. Taking a mini-break before I go mow the lawn. Trying to get back on the "good" list is hard.:rolleyes:
 
Man your mom sounds like she is as much a screwball as mine was "hope you take no offense to that" and my dad just let he do her thing too .
If this place had a chat room I could tell you some real head shaking stories .
I have the feeling that you're A) an only child or B) the "Good kid" who is expected to be perfect , even though the others are all but complete screwups , but it's OK for them , but you can't do anything wrong .
I was an example of B myself .
 
I doubt you'll find the regulation you want.

My suggestion:
Step 1: Go apartment hunting.
Step 2: "I'm sorry, I'm not comfortable with giving away access to my gun safe. It contains legal documents that I am personally responsible for. I'd be happy to open the safe for you to look through any time you like, though."
Step 3: Either they move on, you give in, or you move out.

By the way ... do you have access to your dad's safe?
 
Sounds like she wants you to move out.

I live at home @ 21, but my parents let me do whatever I please, but they know I don't screw up.
 
Your guns, your keys. they have no need to have a copy.

~tmm
 
No legal advice here...

But don't pay any mind to the sarcastic comments... I lived with my parents almost up until my 26th birthday. Doing so, because they were so gracious to allow it, allowed me to earn my master's degree in counseling without taking out huge amounts of debt for it. I only have my loans for my undergraduate degree.

Couldn't have done it without them.
I'm probably buying a motorcycle for my dad with my tax refund check. Gotta love huge gradschool tax deduction bonuses.
 
cordex

By the way ... do you have access to your dad's safe?

No, that's why I had to buy my own MKII, my mom wouldn't lend me hers. With all the work that I did today it is looking like I can keep her happy and she will HOPEFULLY drop the issue.
 
Alright, first off, for anyone who says, "Their house, their rules"... I understand where you're coming from, morally, but this isn't the case, legally. This guy is a legal adult, and under the law, he's residing in the house legally. Whatever terms that aren't in a contract aren't arguable. If the parents wanted this guy to leave, they would have to go to court and evict him. If they "kick him out" by using means other than court ordered eviction, then there could easily be legal trouble.

Anyway, back on topic: I, for one, think you should get them access to the safe, but not as simple as giving them a key. Here's what you do: get a safe deposit box at a bank, and have their name and your name on it, and make it so they can not access the box without you being present. Put the key in it. This covers all the tracks. This way, if something happens to you and they don't have access to a key, they're not stuck with a safe in their house full of guns that they can't get open. They merely have to present a death certificate to the bank after some probate court stuff, and the box becomes theirs and they have a key. Furthermore, it serves your interest by controlling who has access to said items.

But I want to know: What are the reasons they want a key? Is this one of those paranoid parental situation where they're trying to see if you are storing drugs or bombs in the house, or something?
 
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