Need help explaining guns to girlfriend

[Garv]

You're making a mistake trying to change her mind with logic when her dislike of firearms is obviously emotional. You'd have better luck finding some videos of thugs getting the drop on unarmed victims, then some thugs getting the tables turned by the prepared.

^^^this

YouTube has many examples of the good guys protecting themselves.
Pre-select a couple good ones.
Discuss a bad neighborhood you might have to drive through sometimes.

[Wordupmybrotha]

She's asking emotion-based questions that can't be overcome with simple factual-based articles. Her way of thinking took a lifetime to develop. Simply pointing her to an article and expecting her to transform her ethos is unrealistic. Overcoming an emotional mindset takes an emotional event to shake it. Absent a mugging, she just has to be exposed to your gun culture for a long time. So just be good to her.

[Bobby Ricigliano]

There is so much pre-determined bias and anti-gun dogma there that I wouldn't even bother. Tell her to live with it or kick rocks.

Really.

[Full Clip]

You should probably just dump her now and save yourself the grief.

[SonofWWIIDI]

My girlfriend has a general dislike of firearms. When I revealed to her that I regularly carry one concealed, even when I go out with her, she was severely pissed off -- possibly to the point of breaking up with me. I need an article of some sort to cleanly, quickly, and non-judgmentally explain why she's wrong and should support my decision to carry a weapon. I could write one myself, but I feel it's in my best interests to show her something from someone else.

In no particular order, these are some of her objections to my going about armed:

1. What gives you the right to decide who dies?
   I'm not deciding who dies, I'm deciding that we live if we're attacked.
   
2. Can you really handle potentially taking someone's life?
   to protect your life, or my life from a scumbag trying to kill us? Yes!
   
3. Do we really have that much crime that you need to carry a weapon? I'm fine without one.
   While the possibility of a violent crime may not be immediate, if something does happen, wouldn't you rather come out of it with your life and physical well being intact. Additionally, the chance that your house will catch fire is very low top. Why do yo have a fire extinguisher and smoke detectors?
   
4. I'm afraid of a gun accidentally going off.
   Guns don't accidentally go off. There is always some outside influence that causes discharge. If it is not intended, it's called negligence not "accident". Accident is a word people made up to hide their negligence.
   
5. Don't you know that a criminal will just take it away?
   Please show me where the statistics on that are? I know you can't because it's not nearly as frequent as the left would have you believe.
   
6. You're more likely to hurt yourself or me with that thing.
   you're more likely to drown if you own a pool too. You're also more likely to die in an automobile wreck if you drive a car.
   
7. I think only the police and military should have guns.
   i saw a movie about that once, it was called Schindler's list.
   
8. Do you really go around criminals who'd want to hurt you?
   I've got news for you, criminals are in lots of places. Depending on the level of background security where you work, there might be one in your office. (Then look up your cities version of crimereports.com and enter your address and show her the amount of crime in your area, or the area where she works).
   
9. Don't ever carry one when you go out with me.
   I'm sorry you feel that way. You: "Will you need help?" Her: "With what?" You: "Moving your stuff out of the house."
   

I don't know how she feels about long guns or ones with scary black features. She didn't say she was afraid of me shooting her, but I got that distinct vibe. She did volunteer that she likes quarterstaves, bos, and other cudgels. She liked my blackthorn cane I brought to one date because I hurt my ankle earlier and the restaurant was in a questionable area. I did threaten to use it against a charging dog that broke off its attack.

If you have peanut-gallery suggestions like "dump her" and the like, don't bother responding. I need some simple hard facts and figures easily proven and easily digestible.

I'm especially puzzled at how to proceed because during a double date with her, my brother and his wife, she was quite positively involved in the conversation on when and where my brother and I should go target shooting.

Bold added by me.

Statistics are easy to find. The problem is she seems to have already been brainwashed by the lame stream media and the leftist educational system, and stats won't convince her.

Good luck.

[SonofWWIIDI]

Gun facts 6.2

http://www.gunfacts.info/pdfs/gun-facts/6.2/gun-facts-6-2-screen.pdf

Australia violent crime rate up in spite of gun ban.

http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?Article_ID=17847

Disarming the myths promoted by the anti gun lobby.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/larrybell/2012/02/21/disarming-the-myths-promoted-by-the-gun-control-lobby/

You should also look up DR. Gary Kleck. He a professor of criminology and a former gun control advocate.

[wpage]

This...

Have a friend pretend to be a mugger.

[Maht_g]

Got pics of this chick?! Is she worth the effort? If not ditch her, but if she is (and I'm guessing u think she is since you're trying to make it work), like several people suggested try to take her shooting... Expose her to guns in a safe educating environment. My wife grew up without guns in her house and was very afraid of them when we met. Took her shooting a couple times, starting out with smaller calibers but trying several. Now she's getting pretty good with guns, not always fast but I wouldn't wana be in a gunfight with her! Bought her a g42 for Xmas last yr and she's proud as punch to have her own gun! (But I think she may be planning to steal my new pm40!) just takes exposure and positive reeducation

[patriot_man]

Also if she associates guns with killing and taking other people's lives I don't suggest showing her the youtube videos of good shoots.

[Snagglepuss]

you are carrying illegally or else you would have shown her that you were trained and the police willingly gave you the thumbs up.

Also, no one gets a mini revolver for their ccw.

Listen to your soon to be ex.

[diveRN]

As others have posted, you can't persuade someone to your way of thinking using logic and facts when theirs is rooted in emotion. That said, I'm not offering any suggestions for countering an emotional position. I honestly don't even bother to try anymore regardless of the topic. Too much work.

With comments like "only the police and military should have guns," you really have to wonder what your long term prospects are for this girl. There are plenty of awesome women out there who like to shoot and would actually prefer that you carry.

[baggss]

1. What gives you the right to decide who dies?
   
2. Can you really handle potentially taking someone's life?
   
3. Do we really have that much crime that you need to carry a weapon? I'm fine without one.
   
4. I'm afraid of a gun accidentally going off.
   
5. Don't you know that a criminal will just take it away?
   
6. You're more likely to hurt yourself or me with that thing.
   
7. I think only the police and military should have guns.
   
8. Do you really go around criminals who'd want to hurt you?
   
9. Don't ever carry one when you go out with me.
   

I'm especially puzzled at how to proceed because during a double date with her, my brother and his wife, she was quite positively involved in the conversation on when and where my brother and I should go target shooting.

The "list" sounds like a Ant-Gun "101" strait from Bloomberg and Moms demand action. My guess is she has some feeling about guns that have developed via the mass media. Her question of "What gives you the right to decide who dies?" is one of those that the anti's love. The obvious response is "Why does someone else get to decide if I die" but that would only piss her off even more. More importantly though, it also reveals the fact that she honestly believes that you would capriciously use the weapon to take a life for no reason and without thought as to the consequences. If she believes that then either she doesn't really know you or has issues that far outweigh your carrying a gun.

Try your best and see where it goes, she's the one with the problem(s) not you.

[cdtx2001]

Get a new girlfriend OR do like Sean Penn did so he could keep tappin' Charlize.

It sounds like she's a hard core anti, and with questions like the ones she's asked, not much is going to sway her.

The only 2 solutions for you are either she goes, or your guns go.

There may be hope IF you can get her to go to the range on her own free will. If not, time for a new girl or a new hobby for you.

[Spyder]

No one yet has said...

dump her.

?

[Spyder]

Also, I'm curious, how long have you been dating?