Guns in an AirBnB… Give me some advice

Interesting position to be in. My initial thoughts:

Is your partner legally allowed to possess the firearm? Some states can have complex rules. 

Does your partner possess the skills/knowledge to safely handle the firearm? 

In reply to Motojunky :

Legally allowed?  Yes. 
 

Alabama has a "permitless carry" law which allows anyone (who is not prohibited by law) to carry a handgun openly or concealed without a permit, background check, or safety training.

Does she have the skills and knowledge?  No. But she's smart and knows her limitations, and sought help from someone who does. 

You might suggest that she at least have a FFL (gun shop) handle the shipping if she's not willing to budge on her stance. They have record keeping obligations that should at least help protect her from any further liability risk. 

I don't know the details of the gun laws in your state but moral & ethical issues aside, it sounds like trying to return the gun would be literally infinity times more legally troublesome than reporting it to the police. Maybe make this argument to try to get her to change her decision:

Returning the gun quietly involves:

- Not reporting or arguably covering up a crime

- Possessing a gun not registered to you

- Illegally shipping a gun, if that's the way it's returned.

Reporting the crime involves:

- Going to the cops to report a crime you had no part in. Not your fault, no potential legal problems for you, hardly any different to reporting a break-in that you witnessed at a neighbor's house.

The only upside I can imagine to not reporting this is that it could be more lucrative by making the AirBnB more attractive to irresponsible gun owners...which not only increases the danger to future customers at the AirBnB but also random people around those who leave their guns in there (and likely other random places).

In reply to GameboyRMH :

You are forgetting the possible upside that if the gun could be identified as being illegal or used in a crime by the police, returning it to the owner should generate VERY good feedback by the customer!

In reply to SV reX :

Sounds like your partner is the type who doesn't want to make waves, doesn't want drama, and doesn't want her life being complicated. My wife would be much the same way.

I would offer to take care of this problem for her, since I (or you) will be more comfortable handling this.

I would call the local police non-emergency number. Explain the situation to them. Do what they tell/ask you to do. Make it their problem, not your's.

If the gun owner contacts you about what happened to the gun, tell them the facts. Inform them that they violated AirBnB's very simple and explicit policies regarding firearms, and so you transferred the gun in the safest manner possible to people who could handle it best. "If you want to contact them, here is how: ..."

(I don't think you and your fiancee have a problem with each other. I think more likely, your fiancee might have a problem running an AirBnB when things go wrong in an unexpected way. And things WILL go wrong in unexpected ways, especially when people are involved.)

Lots of crazy in this thread.  Still, it's an interesting dilemma.  I really think I would just refuse to ship it, and have the owner make arrangements to retrieve his property.

I personally would not want to make life harder for myself than it needs to me.  In a case like this, that would mean turning the lost property in to the police for the owner to claim through proper channels.
 

Your state is clearly much more permissive regarding firearms than mine.  As others have noted, this situation could result in legal consequences elsewhere.  Regardless of that, a person this irresponsible/casual with firearms would raise other red flags in my mind and I would also seek to limit any further interactions.  For all you know, the gun is "hot" and/or you could be delivering it to a prohibited person.  Just not something I would want to touch...

I'm surprised the owner hasn't noticed his gun missing and reached out to you.  I'm for the 2ns Amendment, but there's responsible ownership and responsible ownership.

Aside from being a hand gun, would you notice a $300-$800 item missing?

Some of you sure know how to be dramatic.
 

Carrying guns in rural areas is completely normal, and common. There is absolutely ZERO reason to assume the gun is connected to a crime. 
 

It was in the nightstand. That's where people put their guns when they sleep.  
 

If it was connected to a crime he would have thrown it in the lake (directly outside the door).

We are NOT shipping the gun. She is trying to return to gun to its rightful owner. (That means they can pick the damned thing up themselves).

Perhaps the middle ground option.

"You have 24 hours to retrieve your property, after that time it will be reported as abandoned and delivered to the local authorities" 

I own guns, but I am inherently uncomfortable with a situation where a random gun comes into my possession, even for a limited amount of time. You don't know if the person legally obtained the gun, if it might have been involved in illegal activities, stolen?. Having it in your possession is a HUGE liability. Personally, I would have called the police non emergency upon discovery and not touched it. 

Don't get me wrong, I know a number of people who would play fast and loose with this kind of thing. "Hey if they don't pick it up, free gun!" But, the liabilities are too great. 

It goes without saying I would report to air BNB as well.

SV reX said:

We are NOT shipping the gun. She is trying to return to gun to its rightful owner. (That means they can pick the damned thing up themselves).

I'd still hand it off to the police to make it Not Your Problem as soon as possible.

This also clearly communicates that what they did was Not Cool.

Not because they brought a gun onto your property, but because they did not bother to inform you that they would be bringing an unsecured firearm onto your property.

I would also place the report with AirBnB, because this is the kind of behavior that other property owner might legitimately not want to rent to them.

In reply to aircooled :

You are the only person who asked how she handled the firearm.  It seems everyone else would rather concoct wild stories about how she mis-handled it and imaginary crimes that may have been committed. The assumptions that she has made some terrible error are completely out of line. 

She broke no law, nor failed to follow any "proper" channel.  She chose to handle it in a responsible manner that was different than I would have.  

She called a friend who is skilled in firearm safety. Former Army- Armor Division.   He assisted her in removing the ammunition, checking the chamber, and partially dismantling the weapon to make it unusable.  She locked the weapon in a secure closet, and locked the ammunition in a different location. She notified the property owner that the gun was secured on his property.  She then started the process of trying to return the lost property (gun) to the rightful owner.  She contacted them, verified ownership, and made it clear that she will not be handling, shipping, or transporting the weapon.

She did a helluva lot better than many people would have done.

I'd like to see the Sheriff involved, but that is mostly because I'd like to see the owner of the gun punished for his irresponsible and dangerous handling of a gun.  It bugs me thinking about what COULD have happened.  That's probably a personal character flaw. I'll talk to my therapist about it. 🤔🙄

As far as my partner's competency in managing an AirBnB, you have no idea how much E36 M3 she has to handle.  It never ceases to amaze me how stupid people can be, and how many dumb things she has to put up with from both guests and property owners. She's really good at handling just about everything.

In reply to Apexcarver and Beer Baron (and a few others): 

Thanks for the balanced perspective. Those are good thoughts, and I definitely agree.

You at least need to determine what your legal exposure is for whatever options are being considered. For that question, it has to be a reputable source. 
 

This has obvious potential to get ugly, and risk assessment requires accurate information. 
 

SV reX said:

I'd like to see the Sheriff involved, but that is mostly because I'd like to see the owner of the gun punished for his irresponsible and dangerous handling of a gun.  It bugs me thinking about what COULD have happened.  That's probably a personal character flaw. I'll talk to my therapist about it. 🤔🙄

This sentiment is entirely reasonable.

The gun owner's behavior is irresponsible and disrespectful.

Something bad *could* have happened. Or no injury could have occurred, but the gun owner could have brought and left an unsecured firearm on a property where the owner/manager was not comfortable or knowledgeable of how to deal with the situation.

If I rented out a property, I would expect to be notified and consulted before having someone bring a firearm with them. I'd be comfortable giving permission for a secured, unloaded weapon. I'd probably be comfortable if they have a CCW, this is their carry weapon, it would be kept in a holster, and they would not have alcohol or drugs. I would not be comfortable with a random person keeping a weapon "for defense".

This owner should know better. Clearly they don't, because they expect your partner to mail their gun across state lines. It will probably take uncomfortable repurcussions for them to get the idea through their head that this sort of behavior is NOT COOL.

There also could have been another outcome...

If the cleaning staff had done their job properly, they would have checked the drawers and found the gun.  There is absolutely no way to know what they would have done, but it is possible they would have taken it and it would have "disappeared".

When Mr Irresponsible realized he was missing his gun, he would have had to contact my partner.  She would have had NO knowledge of the existence of the weapon, and no ability to identify what happened to it. 
 

That would have been bad. 

SV reX said:

There also could have been another outcome...

If the cleaning staff had done their job properly, they would have checked the drawers and found the gun.  There is absolutely no way to know what they would have done, but it is possible they would have taken it and it would have "disappeared".

When Mr Irresponsible realized he was missing his gun, he would have had to contact my partner.  She would have had NO knowledge of the existence of the weapon, and no ability to identify what happened to it. 
 

That would have been bad. 

Which is why this needs to be reported to ABnB.   To protect any other owner from the same situation, and also to protect anyone who rents a place after this yahoo leaves a deadly weapon behind when he goes home.

If the gun was left loaded,  in the nightstand, ready to fire for personal protection, then why wasn't it then carried on the yahoo's person when they left, ya'kno, also for personal protection?  

I would also put it in the review of the yahoo on ABnB.  

And that is about as far as I want to go in this forum about my feelings on this...

In reply to Russian Warship, Go Berkeley Yourself :

I agree. 

I was under the assumption she owned the property, but now see she manages it for the owner. As far as reporting it to Air bnb, what do they say? That's her client, and it's a decision he should make as it affects his business. If he says don't report it to them, she's stuck. 

In reply to Steve_Jones :

Not sure I agree.

AirBnB recognizes my partner as the responsible party, and it is HER account that the guest registered through. The property owner doesn't even have an AirBnB account.  As far as everyone is concerned, she is the host (not the property owner).

I think the responsibility for reporting the incident lies with my partner, not the property owner.

It may have been said somewhere in here already in between the drama, but did you/your partner consult with airBnB? Ask them what their protocol is for a legal firearm being left in an airBnB. 
 

the gun could easily be shipped legally, but it has to go from a FFL to a FFL. When the "owner" comes to pick it up from their FFL, there will be a standard call in to the ATF to make sure the owner is able to receive it and the serial number will be recorded. 

What's going on with irresponsible firearm handling??

on set recently one of the police officers left a loaded pistol in the bathroom. 
 

a grip found it, gave it to his boss who turned it in to production who tracked down the owner (the lead police officer) 

apparently the officer asked them to hold it until the next day which they refused so he came back and got it.  
 

he also got removed from his position. At least on that show but possibly it was from all shows. 
 

what was interesting was the variations in reactions.  Some people were appalled and others were less concerned.