So assuming things get back to normal sometime soonish, those with kids will be getting back into the routine of arranging playdates for their kids with their kids’ friends.
So how does one go about asking other parents if they have any firearms about and if they’ve gone over firearm safety with their children? On one hand, I don’t want to seem like I’m anti-gun, but I also don’t want to come across as a crazy gun guy to anti-gun parents.
I would test the waters using CNN terminology, asking if there is a safe place for the kids free of knives, pointy objects, choking hazards, ghost guns, full semiautomatic assault rifles, etc…
Let the persons response to those trigger words tell you if they are ghost gun believers or if the laugh a bit and use real firearm terminology.
I wouldn’t create an issue where there is none. Most importantly, your kids need to be trained to call you immediately if they see unsafe objects available to them.
You could ease into the conversation and talk about hunting? A lot of people who aren’t gun fans don’t have too much of an issue with hunting.
I agree with @Alexander8, teaching your kids is probably the best way to ensure they stay safe - no matter what the other parents have or don’t have in their home. Same goes with medications (prescription and otherwise) and alcohol… You’d be surprised what some parents think is OK to have their children witness/be a part of.
(Yes, my parents let me have a sip of their beer when I was young and I turned out somewhat normal 
I’m not talking about a sip of beer for a pre-teen to show them how nasty beer can taste in this situation.)
I remember a story on TV that showed parents watching kids through a one-way glass. The kids, “well trained” by their parents, didn’t seem to mind picking up the real looking but fake guns and pulling the triggers, etc.
Who knows how “well trained” they were. Also, we don’t know the motivation of the presenters. I am suggesting that if possible, test their level of training, just to be sure. If they still aren’t sure exactly what to do when they come across a gun, be patient and provide reenforcement training rather than discipline.
So many people suffer when such situations end in tragedy. A small investment in time is well worth the effort.
Maybe I’m in the minority here, but why not just ask? Say what you mean and mean what you say?
I try not to be overprotective, but having kids IS a responsibility and I need to to know if you have guns, narcotics, sex offenders, trampolines without safety nets, or any other inherently dangerous items in your home?
Seriously though, our rule for younger children was they could go hang out at someone’s home after my wife or I had a chance to visit and check things out. Similarly, any kids that just got dropped on our door step made us go ‘hmmmm’ when it came to sending one of our kids over there.
After a certain point though (somewhat child specific) all you can do is cross your fingers and hope you did a good job.
At 4, my daughter still has problems with safety directions so I can’t rely on training just yet. That said, while she’s come close to taking out my eye with a stick several times despite warnings, she seems pretty good about staying away from my gun safe.
While I wouldn’t have any problems alienating any rabid anti-gun parents my daughter wouldn’t like it if she can’t play with one of her friends because her friend’s parents don’t agree with us. I suspect the anti-gun crowd would be more difficult to deal with as I feel that asking another gun-owning parent about whether they have guns and how they are secured is akin to checking that the gun that you’ve just been handed has been cleared.
And no, I don’t have any particular friends or parents in mind, I just want to be prepared.
Parent your kids, not their friends parents. It has worked for me.
Don’t ask, Don’t Tell. Teach your kid about guns and what to do if they come across one or the child who’s house they are at starts playing with one… There has never been a child in my bedroom, where my gun safes are that wasn’t my daughter. None of my niece’s or nephews know I carry. No child who ever come to my house knew I carried.
% agree