I live in Georgia. I have a toddler. We are just getting into the age of playdates and the like. I have a question for everyone:
What is least confrontational way to ask a parent of a child's friend if they keep a gun in the house? And if they say yes, what is least confrontational way to politely say, "your child can come to my house, but my child won't be coming to yours?" Much as I'd like to try to convert them to my way of thinking, practically speaking I don't want to get into a political debate with them or interfere with my child's friend-making. It's a tough issue. Suggestions? How are you all handling this?
3:12 AM PT: Thanks to all for posts below. Please understand that my question is not about whether or not to avoid a conflict. I've already made my decision about whether my child will be in the house without me (NO). I am focussed on minimizing the impact (on him) of that decision.
Another point to make is that someone self-reporting their guns are safely locked up changes nothing. Self-reporting is notoriously unreliable. If everyone who felt they had their guns secured were telling the truth, the incidence of gun accidents would be much lower in this country. I have no gauge of whether a self-reported "safe" gun owner is really a "safe" gun owner. And until such a gauge is developed, I must assume they are all unsafe unless I know them very very well. So to those who are saying just inquire about their gun safety practices, I must respond that it does me very little good to hear "They are locked up/unloaded/secured etc." All of them? All of the time? Are you sure?