All,
Thank you for your opinions. As is always (or should be) the case on a public forum like this, many of your posts are directed at the problem in general, as well at my specific question. I seem to have touched a nerve, as there are now well over 100 replies in less than 1 day. This is obviously an area that is near and dear to many of you through very painful, very personal experience.
I just thought I'd give you an update that is playing with my head a bit. This weekend (Yes, Valentines weekend) there is going to be an
appleseed event in town. I told her about it (and sent her web pages), and suggested that I might want to do Saturday only at this event, and spend all of Sunday with her. (There is another
appleseed in about a month that I could do the whole weekend. This would just be a trial run so I'd be more ready for the full event.)
To my surprise, she is encouraging me to go!
She says she thinks I'd enjoy it, and that I should sign up! I read her as being genuine in this, and not just "throwing me a bone."
That is pretty amazing progress for someone who inspected my CCW license with suspicion about 2 months ago! (Yes, I carry on our dates, and now she knows it.) I think she's been talking to her brother-in-law and some other friends, and is figuring out that interest in guns is fairly normal. She's "not from around here," and has lived all over the world, in a lot of places where only the bad guys have guns and the good guys are forbidden from even liking them.
She still doesn't want to even see an actual gun, but she seems to be gaining some acceptance of my interest.
I appreciate all of the warnings that have been posted here. Most of those thoughts had already occurred to me, and I
am being very cautious. I am trying to keep my eyes and ears open, and to think with the right head. Time will tell what is the right thing to do.
Thanks again!