From HuffPo author Amitai Etzioni:
We should not wait for our elected officials, in President Obama’s good words, “to come together and take meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this, regardless of the politics.” We should do our share. One way to proceed is to mark our homes, apartments and condos, with a “gun free” sign. Parents should notify their friends that they would be reluctant to send their child over for a play date unless the home was safe from guns. Residential communities should pass rules that ban bringing guns onto their premises, clearly marking them as gun free.
Anyone who puts up such signs will become an ambassador for gun control, because they are sure to be challenged by gun advocates to explain their anti-gun positions.
You know what? That would be an interesting effort for sure. I truly appreciate Mr. Etzioni’s proposal for these “gun control ambassadors” because he’s suggesting people take immediate action themselves, instead of waiting for politicians to bicker and waffle and solve nothing.
He’s calling for people to put their money where their mouth is. To proudly proclaim their stance on this issue. Put signs in your yard. Wear a t-shirt proclaiming your stance. Put a bumper sticker on your car. If it’s what you believe, let everyone know.
So for you that support gun control, what say you? Are you willing to do as Mr. Etzioni proposes?
Stuff From Hsoi 
Cuts both ways. Somehow I would feel that my children are safer at your house then his.
Some cannot grasp that concept.
hell if you are going to do what this guy is asking, you might as well just put all your valuables out in the front yard with a big sign that says “free stuff, first come first serve” because i would put money on the probability of the break in rate for the neighborhoods that declare themselves “gun free” to double or worse in the first week of the signs being out.. criminals love easy targets, and in my opinion if i were looking for a good place to go shopping on the five finger discount credit card, the first place i would be heading would be the “gun free” subdivisions.
As I commented to BobG, “duh!” 🙂
I recall a few years ago, some guy was breaking into small businesses here in Austin. After some 50 break-ins they finally caught him. When questioned as to why he was breaking into businesses, he said because this is Texas! everyone has guns in their home! While we know that’s not true, it demonstrates that most criminals want the easy target, the quick score; they do not want a fight, they don’t want to be noticed at all, and deterrants are a strong line of defense against becoming a victim. That could be things like keeping your lights on at night on the exterior of your house, having a useful dog, when you walk through public places to not have ear buds blasting music and walking with your head up and looking around. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a gun on your hip… but all these things together make layers: you try to keep things from even penetrating the exterior layers in the first place, but if they layers get penetrated, then you’ve got something to go with. The more the layers, the tougher the target, the less desirable it is. Because hey.. the house next door has a big screen TV, jewelry, money, etc. too… and will be a lot less work.
What a blithering idiot.
Why not just put signs on houses that say “I am defenseless; feel free to rob/rape/kill me at will”?
Duh! 🙂 But I think it could be a worthwhile point for engaging some people. Because if you really and truly believe it then well… yeah, shout it from the rooftops, put a sign in your front yard. Be proud of your beliefs!
If they honestly consider it a good idea, then I think the right thing to do is politely and rationally explain why it’s a bad idea.
If they “know better” and grasp that it’s a bad idea, then it demonstrates they have some acceptance that guns could be good… that bad people are willing to do bad things to defenseless people… and that “security through obscurity” (i.e. will the criminal know I do or don’t have a gun) implies that while THEY may not want a gun, they are happy and willing to have a gun by proxy so… where’s really the issue? Basically, I think it might be a worthwhile “conversation starter”.