How do I educate my wife so she doesnt make me keep my guns in the garage?!?!

[badazzelanore]

My wife for some reason thinks firearms are the devil. She is afraid that I am going to harm her or the baby with one of my guns. I have been carrying guns for a living for close to 10 years and grew up with guns scattered all over the house. I just dont want them to rust sitting in my garage where all the humidity and weather change occurs. I keep the rifle's unloaded in a seperate room as the ammo and I have a nice electric safe for my pistol to keep by the bed. What if anything can i do to change her mind?

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[Mutoman]

Take her shooting.

 

[timbernet]

LINK


But seriously.... she needs counseling -- the fact that she thinks you are going to go on a rampage and kill her and your kid.... how would storing them in the garage make her any safer? The lack of trust is a bit disturbing.... That would be like you saying you don't trust her giving the baby a bath because she might drown the kid!

 

[jmh119]

I agree with Mutoman. Take her shooting. Although I would start her off with a 22cal so she does not get scared by the kick of a higher cal. Also make sure she understands the parts of the gun, not only for safety, but to also help calm any fears she may have about what the different parts of the gun are.

 

[Karma]

Yep. What they said. My wife was brought up to be scared of guns. I took her shooting and started her out with a 10/22. She ended up enjoying it and wanting her own gun soon after.

 

[rpatton]

Take her shooting.

I agree though I am still trying to convince my own wife to go shooting. Mine seems to soften toward the idea of guns when she finds/meets other people who believe in having them so introducing your wife to other "gun people" might help.

There is also that saying about how it is easier to get forgiveness than it is to get permission, personally it never occurred to me to ask my wife's permission to keep guns in the house but I do "compromise" by not keeping them in our bedroom (something else I hope to change)

Ahhhh....the fine balance of maintaining control while tricking the wife into thinking she is in charge.

 

[Riot]

If she thinks that a gun will cause you to harm her then take all the knives out of the kitchen because you feel the same.

 

[LogicBomb]

if that dont work get a safe

 

[bugeye]

Put your guns in the garage and move the circular saw, chain saw, sledge hammers, picks, and axes into the house for easy access.

 

[Mutoman]

I agree though I am still trying to convince my own wife to go shooting. Mine seems to soften toward the idea of guns when she finds/meets other people who believe in having them so introducing your wife to other "gun people" might help.

There is also that saying about how it is easier to get forgiveness than it is to get permission, personally it never occurred to me to ask my wife's permission to keep guns in the house but I do "compromise" by not keeping them in our bedroom (something else I hope to change)

Ahhhh....the fine balance of maintaining control while tricking the wife into thinking she is in charge.

Have her get on here and meet some of us.

 

[RVTECH]

Was this an issue prior to you marrying her or come up after? I think a starting point needs to be identified before anything can be resolved.

 

[rpatton]

Have her get on here and meet some of us.

I don't know dude... with a signature line like this

I'm a conspiracy theorist, I think the man is out to get me. Or maybe I'm just schizophrenic. Who knows? I'll ask the others.

meeting you might convince her that my guns do belong in the garage...and I don't even have a garage...

 

[Mutoman]

I don't know dude... with a signature line like this

I'm a conspiracy theorist, I think the man is out to get me. Or maybe I'm just schizophrenic. Who knows? I'll ask the others.

meeting you might convince her that my guns do belong in the garage...and I don't even have a garage...

Good point.

 

[el gringo loco]

Get a safe, your going to need it soon enough anyhow, and...

When you say "baby," I assume you mean infant, as in she just had a baby. If so, understand that this may be less about your guns and more about her being a new Mommy. New Moms are NOT rational creatures. During pregnancy and for a year or more after birth, mothers have incredible amounts of hormones pumping through their systems, emotional ups and downs, and protective instincts. Even if rationally she knows something to be true (ie. the guns will not just go off on their own), she may not be able to reconcile that fact with her instincts and emotions. Yes, shooting will make her more comfortable, but she really shouldn't be exposed to lead while breast-feeding, and a trip to the range may have to wait.

My advice is that you should accept that you are never going to win a debate with an irrational person by using logic. Go buy a gun locker or gun safe, mount/bolt it in the spare closet, tell her you acknowledge her concern for your family's safety and explain that you took steps to ensure that the family was safe and that you want her to feel safe and comfortable in her own home.

Long shot chance and I don't think it is the problem, but... Is there any possibility that she is suffering from post-partum depression and is actually worried about what she might do with access to a gun? I know that the possibility may seem remote, but at least reflect on the question a bit before you disregard it. It won't be time wasted.

 

[tionico]

all of the above... seems like a lot of good counsel to chew on.


one question, perhaps this amounts to a thread hijack.... the issue of lead exposure from shooting. How much actual exposure IS there? I mean, loading the copper-plated lead rounds into the mag MIGHT give a trace.... but once it goes flying out the barrel and off to its merry appointment with the black spots downrange, I can't imagine any real quantity of lead. Is this a real issue, or is it another figment of the hyperactive legislators in the wild and wacky state of California?

 

[swoop]

Just sit her down to watch the first five minutes of the evening news for a week. If she doesn't want a gun in the house after seeing all that, you are out of luck. I use that on my wife every time I want to buy another gun..works for me.

 

[jankun]

My friends wife is so anti gun, I can't even talk about ANYTHING in front of her. We got a used Knaack box, paint it up and got locks. It was a size for his garage that didn't look too out of place. He layed the inside with a thick black home depot plastic tarping (little that it does). He puts his guns in there in those silicon socks you get at sporting goods stores along with ammo and it fits in with all his tools and other garage stuff. He did run a lock thru the handle to something secure, but it is otherwise so heavy, nobody can make off with it.

 

[el gringo loco]

all of the above... seems like a lot of good counsel to chew on.


one question, perhaps this amounts to a thread hijack.... the issue of lead exposure from shooting. How much actual exposure IS there? I mean, loading the copper-plated lead rounds into the mag MIGHT give a trace.... but once it goes flying out the barrel and off to its merry appointment with the black spots downrange, I can't imagine any real quantity of lead. Is this a real issue, or is it another figment of the hyperactive legislators in the wild and wacky state of California?

The risk is probably minimal. But....I wouldn't take the risk, however small, with my kids on something so easily avoidable.

 

[raftman]

I'd also back the "take her shooting with you" suggestion. My girl had a strong fear of guns, wouldn't even touch airguns. Of course, I was something of an anti-gunner myself years ago.

Anyways, just around the time my attitude towards guns was changing from anti- to pro-, a buddy of mine invited me to go shooting, along with a friend of his visiting from the EU who doesn't have the right to own a gun or to shoot in his own country. In any case, I, as well as the European dude, and the friend all had a ton of fun, we must have fired a good 800 rounds that day, everything from .22 to 8mm Mauser. I came back to my girl and reported on the experience. Wasn't long before I got a gun of my own... it was a rather odd choice, but I still have it, a Nagant M1895 revolver. Before long, I asked her is she'd be interested in shooting too. By now, she was pretty curious. So I took her to the range, gave an overview/explanation of the 4 rules, demonstrated how the pistol works, suggested that on account of the heavy DA trigger, to shoot it SA and let her shoot. The recoil was pretty mild, she was a natural at shooting, and really enjoyed the experience. She's pretty securely in the pro-gun camp now, and has now moved up to confidently and competently firing much meaner guns like AK's and Mosins.

 

[OcelotZ3]

Regarding storage in the garage, in a box or safe, put a goldenrod in there to raise the temperature and drive out the moisture.