[Dashunde]

With CCW/LTC laws in place in most states many of us who visit this forum can now carry legally, and many do. This all begs the question; What does your spouse think of you being armed?

As most of you know, Missouri has finally managed to get CCW on the books, although it is still on shaky ground. When the law was passed I mentioned to my wife that I would be buying a smaller concealable gun for daily carry. Her response was something akin to “Why? You carry a $350 knife already (Sebenza), and you have survived 33 years without carrying a gun… And by the way, won’t you feel a bit silly or paranoid strapping on a gun everyday?”
Now, for clarity, she is not an “anti” in any way, in fact she likes to shoot and believes in our right to own guns of all types. She just seems to think that it’s a lot of money, (new gun and holsters, permits and required course training), and it's a lot of work (or hassle) to properly conceal and wear daily, only to thwart an event that probably will never happen.

Of course, you and I probably agree on the point that it is far better to be prepared for a life-threatening event that may never happen, opposed to being unprepared. But this simple philosophy seems lost on some, even those who are very close to us.

[KMKeller]

My little missus has a Kahr P9 tucked into her purse and a permit to carry it.

[Greg L]

Mine has a CCW and a Ruger SP101 to go along with it.

It seems like every smaller pistol that I bring into the house she looks at it and says "Oooh pretty, mine now" :rolleyes: . Of course they all live in the same safe & the darkness tends to make them breed which is ok with me.

Greg

[Yanus]

When I first got my permit years ago, my wife was skeptical. My response was, "Baby, I can't protect you bare handed....." She thought for a moment and smiled............ Never had another question.......:D

Yanus

[toro]

My wife was afraid to stay home alone. I took her to an indoor range and taught her some basics. She had the time of her life. Loves to shoot. Too bad Ohio will does not have CCW. Together we have several firearms. We started shooting IPSC together in the 80s. We retired from shooting matches but, still practice together.

She would be the first one to get a CCW, she already has a Florida permit. She shoots Handgun, Rifle, and Shotgun.

Toro

[ARperson]

Mine thinks it's the American Express card...I should never leave home without it.

Course, I think the same thing about his.

[Litlman]

Despite a 10 year attempt to educate my wife , she continues to fail to see the logic an need to ccw. She thinks that I should only have one gun and that it should be a H.D. shot gun. She is not an Anti. but she sure ain't a Pro. So I ccw and she doesn't even know. I do what I have to do. Anybody else have a similar situation???

[AJ Dual]

We're on the brink. Next few weeks is make or break for WI CCW. Passed the Senate veto-proof (for now :rolleyes: ) and will definitely pass the assembly very-very-veto proof.

The wife is supportive of CCW in theroy. She pretty much ascribes to the notion espoused by one local radio talk-show host that "It's dumb to have firearms and self-defense be legal, but not let you do it outside your front door."

So she's on-board in the general sense, but I asked her to call the senator and rep for our district, and checked her phone log serrepticously later and no calls... Sigh.

Assuming we override the gov's veto, or pressure mounts to the point that he lets it pass but refuses to sign, my wife will make some noises when I apply and take the class, and be all :scrutiny:

When she finds out that I actually carry and the permit isn't just an "ego-toy" and pro-RKBA activisim for activisim's sake, she'll be all :fire:

Although she'll be a convert, if only to my carrying, the first time she experiences some real crime, gets followed, approached/harrased by someone sketchy , or experiences some serious road-rage. I also suspect that when we eventually have our first child, she might be more understanding.

So basically, I have a pro-CCW wife who has a bad case of the "but not in my back yard" syndrome. :rolleyes:

I also have some concern that if my wife does finally accept carry, she'll be the kind of spouse that all CCW'ers dread. The one at the first sign of trouble screams: "USE YOUR GUN HONEY!" :eek:

[Gunfyter]

My wife HATES guns. I told her recently that if The Peoples Democratic Republic of Maryland ever gets CCW I'm going to one of the first. She just about had a stroke. :eek: She also said she wouldn't leave the house with me if I were packing. Then in the next breath she says, "you'll do whatever you want anyway". :what: If we do get RTC, she'll get over it - sooner or later.

[TrapperReady]

My wife is an avid shooter, but hasn't warmed up to CCW yet. We've discussed it on a number of times, and she doesn't dispute any of my arguments, but she's still pretty neutral.

I think part of it stems from the fact that we live in a VERY low-crime area, and it is easy to feel safe virtually anywhere. Another large part stems from her lack of comfort with handguns. She primarily shoots shotguns and does so for sport alone. While she has shot handguns quite a bit, she's just not as comfortable with them.

Within the next year, I plan for both of us to attend a defensive handgun course. I hope that this will give her the confidence she needs with them and also give her a better understanding of how and when their use would be appropriate.

[cameroneod]

Mine has a shotgun in her pickup, a Glock in her purse, and most of the time she carries a Darringer in her bra. :D Shes a good woman.

[Gray Peterson]

My partner (yes, I mean that word at the moment) understands the reasons why. All his life he was lied to about the way guns were regulated. From his perspective, handguns were banned. He lived up in upstate NY, not exactly anti-gun country, but the state in general frowns on handgun ownership by the 1911 Sullivan Act.

Now he lives in Oregon with me. He doesn't have the confidence in himself to carry at this point. His family did so much emotional and mental damage to him that he might not pull the trigger when defending against a home invasion. But he will eventually, so he'll likely carry in the future.

[mtnbkr]

My wife viewed it with mild amusement before our baby was born, now she is happy that I'm prepared to defend us if necessary.

Then again, even she's become interested in getting a gun of her own since the baby was born. She's not interested in CCW, but she is happy we have guns in the house. I took her to the range and we both had a good time.

Chris

[Viking6]

I revisit the subject with my wife periodically and she still doesn't like guns but doesn't mind me carrying, shooting, etc. ; I've offered to take her to the range, she politely says no. But she doesn't seem to be aware when I am or am not carrying. A few times, I have taken a pistol out of my pocket and put it on the night stand while she's still awake and she makes no comment. The arrangement works well for both of us.

[OF]

My wife is pretty neutral about it. She sometimes wonders what all the big deal is, espcially if I strap it on to go mow the lawn or something, but refrains from giving me static about it. She's fine with it all-in-all.he might not pull the trigger when defending against a home invasion.You know, Lonnie, when I first started to carry that was my concern: that I wouldn't necessarily shoot someone just to save myself from some harm. It was thinking about others and what could happen to them if I wasn't prepared to help that really opened a door for me mentally at that time.

- Gabe

[stevelyn]

Mine has a shotgun in the pickup, a Glock in her purse and mos of the time she has a Derringer in her bra. She's a good woman.

Alaskan girls just kick butt don't they?:D I've been kicked out of the house with a rifle thrown out behind me and told to go out and shoot a moose.:neener: :evil:

[Langenator]

My wife is annoyed that SC doesn't recognize my WA permit and that SLED takes so long to process my request.

She's also looking forward to her birthday so she can get a permit and pistol of her own.

[DadOfThree]

I don't understand the logic behind my wife's thinking. She is glad that I carry when we are out together, just in case something bad would happen. But she doesn't want to learn to shoot and definately doesn't want to carry herself. She does go out without me and I ask what she is going to do if "something bad happens" and she is alone. She says she'll call the police. :scrutiny:
Oh well, at least my daughters have no problem shooting. They are the only kids in their classes at school that have fired an MP5 :D

[BeLikeTrey]

Langenator, SC DOES take forever! I remember I called and asked a few time related questions, as to when I would get the Cwp in the mail. Let me just say that 90 days was the only thing the guy knew how to say. They meant it too, it took every day of those 3 months to get it. Nice thing is though, is that once you get it, it makes firearm purchases a whooooooole lot easier and speedy. Long guns are immediately purchased. I have never waited for the sled check (on rifles) since I got mine. The other nice thing is that they reminded me of renewal in ample time to drop my cash and get it in the mail. Down side is almost none of our neighboring states (to my knowledge) accept our permit.

[Mike Irwin]

What spouse?

I've got two dogs.

Believe me, after what I was married to, I'm MUCH happier.

[Series 70]

I introduced my wife to shooting while we were still dating. Back then I had my 1911 and a Colt Python. She fired them both, held up the Python and said, "This one is mine."

20+ years later and I still have to ask her permission to shoot the damn Python.

She got her permit about a month after I got mine. She carries a S&W model 60, though not very often. She likes the idea of me carrying, but for her to carry requires odd feelings from some nebulous female intuition thing. Don't ask me.

[clipse]

My wife thinks that CCW is a good thing. She asked I was going to carry it all the time. I told her no she can tell when and where I will need it and I will only carry it then.:D I got smacked.


clipse

[Dorrin79]

My wife is cool with it.

She isn't interested in carrying herself (I'm working on that) but she has no problem with me getting my CHL and carrying when and where I desire.

[MarkDido]

Hell, mine came home one day and said she had a present for me.

It was S&W 4516.

She was picking up our grand-daughter, who we're raising from the other grandparents (her ex and his wife) and she said she thought I would like it.
Her ex was selling it.

What a woman!

[Hkmp5sd]

My spouse views CCW from a distance. She now lives somewhere else. However, I had a CCW for several years prior to even meeting her. She had no interest in firearms for the decade we were married, but asked me to teach her to shoot after we split because she had become use to having an armed bodyguard around.

[R-Tex12]

My bride thinks it's terrific. She also has her concealed carry permit and a KelTec P32 for when she can't easily carry her Glock 19.

R-Tex12

[Standing Wolf]

When I met my ex-wife in 1975, she was a dyed in the wool anti-Second Amendment bigot. I took her to the range, and she found it considerably more difficult to shoot than she'd expected. She suddenly understood why I was a little nutty around the edges on the topic of accuracy. When we went our separate ways in 1980, she had her own .357 magnum and a permit to carry it.

Some leftists do grow up.

[emc]

I'll echo what Mike Irwin said. Not something I worry about, being divorced from someone who truly has long term issues. The girlfriend is OK with it, but doesn't have any interest in it herself.

FWIW,

emc

[71Commander]

My wife, who is a NRA member in her own right, and was a member when I met her, has not voiced an opinion one way or another.


She did not object my taking the CCW classes or my getting the CCW. Nor did she object when I bought a new ultra compact 1911, knowing it was for concealed carrying all the time.

[Edward429451]

My wife used to only tolerate it until we had a close call with some thug types (yrs ago) and now she is all for it since she seen first hand how even just the presence of one stopped the bad situation without a shot fired. I think that reassured her that I wouldn't shoot someone unneccessarily.

She's scared of the police so doesnt share my views of civil dispbediance regarding permits, and wants to get hers. She must realize practicality over technicality though cuz se carries sometimes anyway.

She stands behind me in whatever I do. She is a good woman and I don't do enough for her...

Rub her feet. (Heinlein)

[Khornet]

is the most solid and sensible person I know, my guiding light, my strength, and someone I want to grow up to be like.

She thinks I'm nuts to carry. She views it as a little eccentricity of mine, and mainly humors me. To be fair, here in our small NH town the odds of me ever needing to shoot are low, and I don't really 'need' protection. But on the other hand, she doesn't fret about it; she doesn't think a gun on my person means someday I'll go postal during a traffic incident. So I say, in strictly rational terms, she's right. It IS a little eccentricity of mine. But more on that below.

My siblings and parents don't know I carry and would have a cow if they knew. They DO think carrying means a 'crime of passion' sooner or later.

For these two reasons I almost always carry in a tucked IWB these days, warm weather or cool.

So why do I carry, then? I got my permit at first just because I could. I was exercising a right (or privilege, if you prefer, since a permit was needed). Then I opened an outpatient endoscopy center, where injectable narcotics will be used and stored, and started thinking about drug-seeking loonies. So I began to carry to the office. Then I saw that trouble never comes when you expect it, and if you're in the habit of only carrying in certain situations the day will certainly come when you'll need your piece but it's at home or in the car. So now I carry all my waking hours, except where forbidden, and when I leave a place where I can't carry the piece immediately gets strapped back on.

May I always be seen as silly for carrying, because the doubters will never see my point until the day my pistol is needed to save me or them.

[Spieler]

My wife never warmed up to the shooting sports or firearms in general, but she has no problem with me exercising my rights. She knows that I have the training and experience to handle firearms in a safe manner and I am passing these skills on to our kids now. While she does not wish to get a CWP she does not object to me carrying on an almost daily basis and actually feels more secure when I am carrying.