Trying to help my wife become less stressed about the idea of a handgun in the house

B

B A Booracus

New member
I will be getting my LTC in MA in a few weeks and want to put my wife's mind at ease about how safe a responsible gun owner can be when there are kids in the house (We have a 2 yr old and a 5 month old).

Is there any material (statistics, pamphlets, publications, etc...) that can help her be more comfortable with a safely stored firearm in our house?
 
Take a look at this:
Record numbers now licensed to pack heat - Life- msnbc.com
Facts never seem to help when you're talking to a hopolophobe, so I hope she's more open minded than that.

I bought my wife-to-be a revolver before we got married. She has several guns that are 'hers' as well as owning me and mine ...

Have you taken her shooting? That might be a good place to start.
 
What helped me out with convincing the girl, was we started watching the show "I shouldn't be alive". One episode we watched was all on women being mugged. That opened her eyes to what happens in the real world.

The other thing that NDS already said, is take her to the range!!!!

I find that alot of people that haven't been around guns seem to think they can go off by themselves, or if you drop them . Explain to her what a firing pin safty is. Once you go to the range it will make her more comfortable aroung them.

have her shoot a .22 or she'll hate it!!!


My girls son just turned 3 yesterday. we have been together for 15 months, and only took about 8 - 10 months to convert her from a strong anti gun way of thinking, to when ever we go out she expects me to carry.

Get a safe, get her involved, get to pack'n (once your class A no restrictions comes):triniti:
ps I also have my class A, and I live in MA too
 
Hey Boor: Your wife certainly understands all about your sense of responsibility---in my house it all came down to jewelry. I get my "jewelry" when she gets hers. I'm not trying to make light of a significant discussion etc that you must have with other adults in the home, but I give my wife credit for understanding my reasons and I give her credit for getting something she wants. Once that expensive item was around her neck, I came clean on my firearms and she never objected and understood that some were defense and some were target/hobby.
 
B A Booracus said:
I will be getting my LTC in MA in a few weeks and want to put my wife's mind at ease about how safe a responsible gun owner can be when there are kids in the house (We have a 2 yr old and a 5 month old).

Is there any material (statistics, pamphlets, publications, etc...) that can help her be more comfortable with a safely stored firearm in our house?
Click to expand...

Where in MA? If I may ask...

Getting her involved is the best idea. Gun safety in the home is a multiple step process. Keeping her informed and educated and when the children are ready educate them on the subject. Ignorance will kill faster than the bullet will. For good information consult the NRA website and GOAL's web site for other links to safety information. NSSF is a great resource as well.

Gun Owners' Action League - GOAL.org - "Protecting Your Freedom Begins Here"

NRA

NSSF | Safety

Peace...
 
B A Booracus said:
I will be getting my LTC in MA in a few weeks and want to put my wife's mind at ease about how safe a responsible gun owner can be when there are kids in the house (We have a 2 yr old and a 5 month old).
Click to expand...
Please don't take any of this personal, but it would help if she could identify what specifically is causing her concern. She is obviously apprehensive about a gun being in the house...but why? Is it because kids may be able to access the gun? Is it because she feels gun safety is not observed when the gun is being handled? Does she lack confidence in your ability to use the gun without jeopardizing family members? See if you can get to the root causes of her concerns. Then jointly work out solutions that resolve her issues.

Good luck!
 
Old Zebra said:
Please don't take any of this personal, but it would help if she could identify what specifically is causing her concern. She is obviously apprehensive about a gun being in the house...but why? Is it because kids may be able to access the gun? Is it because she feels gun safety is not observed when the gun is being handled? Does she lack confidence in your ability to use the gun without jeopardizing family members? See if you can get to the root causes of her concerns. Then jointly work out solutions that resolve her issues.

Good luck!
Click to expand...

+1 - But start with a Safe regardless of her concerns..
 
Dont rush her... I had my cpl and weapons for 3 years before my wife would shoot.Now she likes them much better and will shoot once in a while.Our kids are gone now so I have them out more.She understands what they are for and knows how to use them. Thats all I can ask for now.
 
Look, if we all listened to the experts say "don't try (fill in the blank) at home" then where would the next generation of experts come from?

Just be smart enough to learn from other people's mistakes and get a gun vault that you can open quickly or carry the sucker 24/7. Experience is a great teacher but the test comes before the lesson.
 
In addition to taking her to the range, you could try to convince her to take some NRA classes with you. It is one thing to hear you tell her how safe it can be. It is quite another for her to actually learn it for herself from a certified instructor. For some reason, women believe it more when it comes from a professional, even if that is where you learned it in the first place.
 
What works best is buy a nice .22, take her to the range, load for her and let her shoot, once she realizes how much fun it is you will have a convert.
 
Read her the NRA armed citizen page every month. Worked for my wife. Of course, having her grandma murdered helped too but that was after she was already a convert.
 
i think it was our second date when somehow the topic of guns came up . She had a disgusted look on her face when i mentioned that i have some. I asked if she wanted to go to the range and she said no. I said if she wants to win this argument she has to know what she is talking about first. Our third date was at the range and now.. 4 years later she is a better shot than me.
take her to the range and she may become more comfortable with the idea
 
:man_in_love:
Old Zebra said:
Please don't take any of this personal, but it would help if she could identify what specifically is causing her concern. She is obviously apprehensive about a gun being in the house...but why? Is it because kids may be able to access the gun? Is it because she feels gun safety is not observed when the gun is being handled? Does she lack confidence in your ability to use the gun without jeopardizing family members? See if you can get to the root causes of her concerns. Then jointly work out solutions that resolve her issues.
Click to expand...

Well put.

You have to understand the source of the fear, and identify the problem before you can solve the problem.

Most mothers have a fear that the children will gain access to the firearms. That's been my experience as to the main fear and problem. If that's the case you need to show how your storage method will prevent unauthorized access. Preventing unauthorized access is one of the cardinal rules for home firearms safety.

If use of the gun and its potential to injure family members is a concern, show her your plan. You do have a plan, right? Show her how the first step is to secure everyone in your safe room. You do have a safe room, right? Have her help you put the plan together and even run through it every now and again.

Making her part of the plan should help to make her part of the solution. YMMV.:man_in_love:
 
My wife was eventually won over based on a couple of factors:
1. I bought a pistol safe and was diligent in locking up the pistols when ever they were not being used or carried.
2. I left my rifleman magazines in the head. She found the armed american report and started reading them.
3. My youngest son got involved in competitive shooting, 3/4 position air rifle, via the local American Legion post. She was suddenly a fan of the shooting sports ;).
4. I got NRA certified to work with the Boy Scouts and eventually started teaching basic pistol courses.
5. One of her friends took my class, got her CCW, bought a pistol and started going to the range -- sold.
6. Now she gets pissed if I go to the range without her and is flirting with getting her CCW.

Note: This transpired over the course of about 10 years.
 
A gun safe (or equivalent) is a MUST! with children in the house. Education is the place to start; however, there is a down side - I took my girlfriend to the range for that reason, and I haven't been able to shoot my new Glock 17 since - it became her Glockette! In the long term, it may cost you a gun or two....
 
I don't have any dogs in this chase since my wife shoots better than me, and was an avid shooter when I meant her. But I agree with the advice given in this forum. These guys sound like they have been there, done that! Listen to them... :pleasantry:
 
matelpt said:
A gun safe (or equivalent) is a MUST! with children in the house. Education is the place to start; however, there is a down side - I took my girlfriend to the range for that reason, and I haven't been able to shoot my new Glock 17 since - it became her Glockette! In the long term, it may cost you a gun or two....
Click to expand...

Same thing happened to me when I took the wife to the range, I put the tactical laser on my HK and the wife started shooting steel and I could not be my gun back until she had used up all my ammo......:biggrin:

N gun safe is a no 1 idea just go larger than you think you will need and sell it on the basis that you can put her jewelry, kids videos, and tax records in it.....:yu:
 
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