In the beginning...
When I met her she was a college girl finding her place in the world. We talked about stuff, guns always appeared to be tabooish. This was easily over-looked as she was nice, had a great personality, we could talk about anything, she was HOT and she liked me. While we were engaged she didn't want to see any guns. The subject of guns would be broached every once in a while.
The story behind the "anti"-
Her strong dislike (not quite hate) of firearms stemmed a lot from MSM and her Uncle shot himself (to death). Anyway, she grew up in a moderate-conservative home without guns.
The change-
After 5 years of marriage we went on a date to a local indoor range. When we pulled in the lot she knew something was up. We went inside, the guy behind the counter could have passed as Stephen King. I think that's what started what would ensue. I rented a little Buckmark .22 to start her in easy, as we were going over safety I could tell she was uncomfortable. By the time she handled the weapon she started to shake and tears were rolling down her cheek. I asked if she wanted to continue, she shook her head and walked back out to the truck. Every once in a while I'd ask if she wanted to go to the range, I was always rejected. That is until about three years ago.
My buddy was deploying to Iraq and had been taking his wife to the range and put her through some courses. I asked him to ask his wife to ask my wife if she wanted to go on a double date to the range. My wife accepted and we had a date. Again, I rented a little .22 for her to start with, we went over the rules and safety. We entered the range, found our position, loaded a magazine and off she went. There was a little uncertainty at first, but she went through another magazine. I took my turn on our lane while her and her friend chit-chatted about her first shots. As it turns out she had a blast, she went to 100rnds of .22 and 20 9mm. We visited the range a few times more, she took a womens class, she adopted my XD40 and she generally out shoots me.
Today-
There's a shirt at opencarry.org that says something to the effect of "OOPs, my 2nd Amendment is showing." A few months ago she saw it and it made here chuckle. She's joked around a few times and said "your 2nd Amendment is poking me".
Then today, what spawned this post, I have a safe with an electronic lock in my truck. When I was leaving work I tried to unlock the safe, it wouldn't. There is a built in "timer" that waits 5 minutes, then 20 minutes after 3 unsuccessful attempts. It came with a key, my problem was I didn't know where it was, I didn't plan on forgetting my combo. I came home, feeling naked. When I got home I hugged my wife and she immediately asked where my 2nd amendment was. I told her my story. I looked up the manufacturers webpage to see if there was anything I could do, thinking maybe I had reset the combo. Basically, without the key I was hosed (unmounting requires the door be open). I started searching for the key...everywhere I could think to look I did. My wife obviously noticed my frustration and offered to help look. When we first got married she'd have said "too bad", now she is genuinely concerned.
Some of you guys have never had a wife that didn't like you guns and others are still trying to convert, I'm here to say it's possible.
When I met her she was a college girl finding her place in the world. We talked about stuff, guns always appeared to be tabooish. This was easily over-looked as she was nice, had a great personality, we could talk about anything, she was HOT and she liked me. While we were engaged she didn't want to see any guns. The subject of guns would be broached every once in a while.
The story behind the "anti"-
Her strong dislike (not quite hate) of firearms stemmed a lot from MSM and her Uncle shot himself (to death). Anyway, she grew up in a moderate-conservative home without guns.
The change-
After 5 years of marriage we went on a date to a local indoor range. When we pulled in the lot she knew something was up. We went inside, the guy behind the counter could have passed as Stephen King. I think that's what started what would ensue. I rented a little Buckmark .22 to start her in easy, as we were going over safety I could tell she was uncomfortable. By the time she handled the weapon she started to shake and tears were rolling down her cheek. I asked if she wanted to continue, she shook her head and walked back out to the truck. Every once in a while I'd ask if she wanted to go to the range, I was always rejected. That is until about three years ago.
My buddy was deploying to Iraq and had been taking his wife to the range and put her through some courses. I asked him to ask his wife to ask my wife if she wanted to go on a double date to the range. My wife accepted and we had a date. Again, I rented a little .22 for her to start with, we went over the rules and safety. We entered the range, found our position, loaded a magazine and off she went. There was a little uncertainty at first, but she went through another magazine. I took my turn on our lane while her and her friend chit-chatted about her first shots. As it turns out she had a blast, she went to 100rnds of .22 and 20 9mm. We visited the range a few times more, she took a womens class, she adopted my XD40 and she generally out shoots me.
Today-
There's a shirt at opencarry.org that says something to the effect of "OOPs, my 2nd Amendment is showing." A few months ago she saw it and it made here chuckle. She's joked around a few times and said "your 2nd Amendment is poking me".
Then today, what spawned this post, I have a safe with an electronic lock in my truck. When I was leaving work I tried to unlock the safe, it wouldn't. There is a built in "timer" that waits 5 minutes, then 20 minutes after 3 unsuccessful attempts. It came with a key, my problem was I didn't know where it was, I didn't plan on forgetting my combo. I came home, feeling naked. When I got home I hugged my wife and she immediately asked where my 2nd amendment was. I told her my story. I looked up the manufacturers webpage to see if there was anything I could do, thinking maybe I had reset the combo. Basically, without the key I was hosed (unmounting requires the door be open). I started searching for the key...everywhere I could think to look I did. My wife obviously noticed my frustration and offered to help look. When we first got married she'd have said "too bad", now she is genuinely concerned.
Some of you guys have never had a wife that didn't like you guns and others are still trying to convert, I'm here to say it's possible.
Getting her ccw soon, and begs me to go shooting when we have days off together.
If that doesn't trigger some "left brain" thinking, nothing will - some people just aren't that smart. 