Ah The Trace! LOVE this site as a crossroads of anti-gun nuttery! Not only is it a quick and easy way to track down nutty articles about banning guns, but every one has Michael Bloomberg’s seal of approval on it!
Check out this one!
Uber announced a new policy earlier this month banning its drivers and passengers from possessing guns, two months after an Uber driver carrying a concealed weapon shot another man who had fired into a crowd in Chicago. The incident raised questions about the popular ridesharing company’s stance on guns. And then came Charleston. Hence, the firearms ban.
Well there she just went out an said it! THE WORLD WOULD BE A BETTER PLACE IF THIS SPREE SHOOTER WAS ALLOWED TO CARRY OUT HIS ATTACK TO COMPLETION!!!
Am I right here? Did she just say that? Sure sounds like it! Moving on:
It also got The Trace wondering about the gun policies of another giant of the so-called “sharing economy,” Airbnb.
Oh you wonderful saints, lead the way!!
Airbnb’s terms and conditions say hosts are responsible for following local laws, and that the company “disclaims all liability.” In other words, if hosts don’t want firearms in their homes, it’s up to them to state that in their listing. If guests want to know whether guns are kept in the house where they’ll be staying, they have to ask. But Airbnb hosts do not have to disclose the presence of guns in their home before renting it out, since the premises are their private property. Airbnb asks that hosts ensure their homes are safe for children and recommend they notify guests of “potential hazards,” but does not elaborate on what those hazards might include. (Airbnb did not return repeated calls for comment.)
Well first up, as rabidly pro-gun as I am, I do not have pro-gun signs on my house or my car. I don’t want to tempt fate, because guns are valuable street commodities. If you were to keep a gun at your home AND rent it to Air BNB the last thing you’d want to do is let the renters know that if they look hard enough they could find a gun. Same with prescription medicine, or jewelry, or large sums of cash.
And like those other valuable items, it would be in your best interest to secure them, or relocate them while renters are on site.
Oh, and let’s just gloat for a second that Air BNB didn’t feel it necessary to return a call to the almighty Bloomberg! HAH!
The bottom line is that same gun rules apply in an Airbnb rental as they would in a local hotel room or a rental apartment under state laws and city ordinances. In Texas, for instance, an out-of-state resident with the proper permits is allowed to carry a concealed weapon in most places, including into the home of the stranger whose home you have rented.
In New York, which has much stricter gun laws than Texas, gun owners need a New York permit to carry a concealed weapon. But if an in-state Airbnb guest has that permit, they are allowed to bring their concealed weapon along on their weekend getaway without informing the host, a New York law enforcement official tells The Trace.
Well of course they’re full of shit. Yeah New York is 100% hostile to gun owners, but is most states (including Texas) you only need a permit to carry the gun in public. You can arm up your hotel room or Air BNB room like the Lobby Scene from the Matrix every night with no legal issues.
Or really any issues…. again, they seem desperate to be looking for a problem.
Searching through Airbnb listings, we found a few hosts who do specify their policies toward guns on their listing. One couple from Bend, Oregon, advertises their home as being “firearm friendly,” but requested that guests notify them if they bring them on the property. A listing for a property in Nashville, Tennessee, on the other hand, expressly forbids guns on the property at any time, even if the guest has a concealed-carry permit.
And such policies mean exactly NOTHING! Concealed means concealed.
But there’s little motivation for Airbnb to enact a no-guns policy like Uber’s.
And doesn’t that just PISS YOU OFF!
Good!
In my experience, legally-speaking (IANAL, so take this with a grain of salt), when you rent a place, that place becomes “yours” for the duration of your rental contract (be that a day or a decade). Thus, in most places and in many respects, your rules supercede those of the property owner.
Think about it: The federal government itself cannot ban guns from Section 8 housing, even though the fed.gov owns those buildings. The people who live there, live there. It’s their home, and the tenants have the right to keep a firearm in their home, regardless of the fed.gov’s feelings on the issue.
Another example: If you’re traveling and living in an RV for a month, that RV is your residence and most places will respect your right to keep a firearm there. In Oregon, a camping tent has the legal status of a “temporary residence” and the state cannot ban firearms from being stored there while it’s actively occupied (i.e. not abandoned)!
So with all due respect to The Trace (as much or as little as that might be — you decide), AirBNB’s rules (or lack thereof) are not unusual or newsworthy.