Mr. Edelstein,
As a gun owner and member of the NRA, I have to admit, I found your article in the Trentonian about your gun rights being trampled by your wife quite refreshing. It was honest and did not distort reality - which is an unusual thing to read in any NJ based publication where guns are concerned. I can assure you, you aren't alone in suffering that little bit of marital tyranny. And while I think your wife's fear is understandable, it is none the less an irrational fear.
The key to getting over any irrational fear is to face it down. Guns are to be respected of course, and safety should always be a fist concern. But in the end they are just tools - not meaningfully more dangerous that a circular saw or other power tool if handled properly. All you (and your wife) need to do is learn more about them.
Toward that end, I would like to extend an invitation to you and your wife both, to visit my gun club as my guest. I'm a member of NJ's largest Private Gun Club - Central Jersey Rifle and Pistol in Jackson NJ. I take dozens of first time shooters there for their first experience with firearms every year. I have a great deal of experience in coping with the concerns of inexperienced shooters and can absolutely assure you of your complete safety.
If you decide to come by, the very first thing we'll provide you with is a chance to learn all about the safe handling of any firearm. Swimming pools, bicycles and basketball kill more people in America every year than the shooting sports do, so it's perfectly safe if done correctly. And in the process of that instruction we can give you the chance to fire not only pistols and shotguns but also a semi-automatic AR15 and AK47 rifle.
I think you'll find it a fun afternoon, but most of all, it will give you and your wife both a chance to replace your fear with understanding. From there you can make a much more rational decision about whether you really do want to own a firearm of your own or not. No pressure or politics... just facts.
If it would make your wife more comfortable, I'll be happy to bring my own wife along as well. She's actually a first rate pistol shooter, and has several guns of her own. I'll be happy to make myself available to you at your convenience. Please feel free to contact me at the email on my bio, and we'll schedule something that's most convenient for you.
All the best,
Tom
13 comments:
Excellent Tom...All great journeys began with one step.Good Luck..
My question for this type of person is how many people have a gun but at the final moment just cant pull the trigger. I would think most could if its family protection....
He'll never respond.
I extend dozens of these invites to journalists every year and they almost never take me up on them because they aren't usually being sincere. they don't really want to understand guns or gun culture, they just want to sneer over their lowfat soy double mochaiatto's. this is a little different because he's realized that he has an old friend that he's sneering at too, but I suspect it's just a cute slant on the same old story.
And it's a very old story in this area among journalists. A guy like me can't exist - it shatters too many of their illusions. They have to preserve that image of the gap toothed illiterate gun owner taking his political cues from cable news. A guy like me is too threatening for them.
But... maybe he'll read it and will feel a little guiltier the next time he needs to depict people on the right as empty headed buffoons.
Now that my dopamine receptors in my brain are being bathed in fried goo you are probably correct..
About to watch G.Will vs libtards.Im 6' 180...If we get fomo I think Ill test the 200 lb level just from leting go with fat and etoh... God help us..
Jeff, turn in your man card - if you still have it, which I doubt.
Totally unfair JD. Happy wife, happy life. We all make sacrifices to keep the spouse happy. I respect any man who knows how to pick his battles.
I've noticed several times now that there is a single clarifying moment when an anti-gun women becomes receptive to the idea of owning a gun for self-protection.
Each time has been when the lib woman (usually a Mom) reads or hears a story where she can put herself directly in the place of the victim. General feelings of local increasing violent crime, combined with that one personalizing story, does it. Then all it takes is introducing her to guns in a manner that she feels comfortable with, usually by first talking to girl friends who already shoot.
Note: That's her talking to her girl friends, not your ex's. I have zero experience with anything coming out positive when the wife/girlfriend talks to one of the guy's ex's.
Before my now wife said 'yes', we went through a rather long question & answer period... interrogatories via email. Almost like discovery in a court case.
The purpose of what was to clearly state what we expected of each other. One of mine was: 'I own guns. I consider them necessary and good. We will have guns in the home'. If she required that I disarm, there would not have been a marriage. Seven years later, I still keep my .40 cal S&W handy, should a need arise that requires its use.
I still have to get my wife her purchase permit, which in NJ is a major PITA.
I don't know Tom, what kind of battle is it if a grown man is outright forbidden to do something? How about he forbids her from watching TV? I think I know how that would work out.
I get your point, but I forbid my wife from sleeping with the pool boy. (Actually... I'm the pool boy so I really don't... but you get my drift.)
Married men pick their battles. I grant you he's probably not an overachieving alpha male, but until I have more data, I won't trash him for it.
Just sayin.
How about a Radio Free NJ Readers' "Day at the Range"???
I've considered it. But there are a few problems. first, I've met people who I would not trust with a firearm, and there is no way to reasonably filter the readership. Even apart from that, there is no facility for firearm lending or rental at my club.
Second, mine is a private club and it has rules. One of them is that I'm only supposed to have 3 guests at a time. Most officers at the club will let me slide if I go over by one, or if someone brings a long a wife or child or something, but they aren't going to let me show up with 25 unsupervised shooters, and I wouldn't want to anyway.
Thirdly, my experience with setting these things up is that it always turns out to be a lot more wok than it seems. I already handle 2 events a year, that's about my limit.
The most noobs I brought to a public range in one-shot was about 8. That was at shoreshot, and Billy was very happy... cha-ching!
These guys wanted to shoot and they understood that there would be a tutorial either at my home befor the shoot or in the range on safety and laws.
We made it a regular event, but it was gettting too big and wasn't fun for me anymore. I used to go with the intention of shooting at least 200 rds, but would wind up shooting no more than a box because I had to be the "helper".
My brother used to belong to CJRP. Great range. I wound up joining fort dix R&G range 14. Best value for civillians, although limited hours of operation. At least they allowed me to blow-up some junk at the 150 line :)
I figured South Florida would be just like Dix, but no - things are really strict at my new public range. No silhouette targets, no rapid fire, all targets must be on the mounts that they provide. No ground targets... :(
Tom - good luck if any of these "mensch" and their shicksa wves ever take you up on your offer.
I took my buddy and his brainwashed lib wife to shoreshot. she got so nervous started crying. Lost cause. My wife shrugged and resume perforating the 10 ring.
I found the Edelstein column kind of funny. I have a Jewish friend who owns an AR-15 but is still "in the closet" about it with his parents. He's in his early thirties.
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