My wife was very anti at one time, and didn’t even want a gun in the house. The key word there is WAS. She grew up in a home without guns around, and had been indoctrinated by the schools and media that guns are evil killing machines. I knew I had my work cut out for me, but I knew if I didn’t push it down her throat. I could gradually educate and change her mind. I just had to do it one baby step and a time.
Get her used to even having a gun in the home:
When I brought my first pistol home. I promised to keep it unloaded and with a trigger lock on it at all times. I also promised not to even get it out, unless I was headed to the range. Let her know that with it unloaded and a trigger lock on, it was just a big hunk of steal and was not dangerous at all.
Once she felt at ease with this single hunk of steel in the home. I brought home my first 22 rifle that my Dad had given me when I was 7. Let her know that this would also be unloaded at all times and was safe. Also told her this was a little 22 I would shoot with my Dad when I was 7! Not exactly a machine-gun, and I let her know because there was no recoil it was very FUN to shoot. Even hinted she should go with me to the range for the first time. (she refused to go)
Give her a few weeks of getting used to now having two guns in the home. I was making weekly trips to the range and coming how telling her how nice the day was and how I wish she would go and see for herself. If she didn’t like it, I wouldn’t ask her to go again. Who knows if she liked it, that would be one more thing we could enjoy together! The key word there is TOGETHER since we are a team. Once at the range I went slow and let her watch me shoot the 22 a few times. Then I slowly explained all the safety rules and how to shoot it. Turn out she was a pretty good shot. I also brought some cans, as we all know shooting paper can get a little boring. The smile on her face every time she made those cans jump was priceless. We now had a sport that we BOTH enjoyed.
Now that she is at least a little comfortable with the guns in the house and shooting them. We can now have intelligent conversation about guns. We can talk about the idiocy of “Gun Free Zones” and that the only people who are going to obey that sign are the Good Guys. So now we have a place where only the bad guys are armed. Every time a shooting at a school, mall, or restaurant would come on the news. I would just comment that if someone other than the psycho had been armed, how many more people might have been saved. The police are always minutes away and how many times can you pull the trigger in 6-20minutes? I would email her videos like
THIS. Soon she is the one making the comments and sending me videos. Next thing I know we are watching the news and a woman in a church saves hundreds of people because she was armed and stopped a mad man at the New Life Church. What do you know, a gun in the hands of the “Good Guys” is a Good thing! Now she enjoys reading "The Armed Citizen" every month in my American Rifleman magazines.
