> TEOTWAWKI Blog: Guest Post: One Woman's Perspective on Guns

Pages

9/9/10

Guest Post: One Woman's Perspective on Guns

My husband loves guns, like I'm sure most of the people reading this do. But does your partner love guns as much as you do? When it comes down to TEOTWAWKI,  guns will be an essential item for your survival for most preppers, guns are just a way of life. For me, coming from a mixed liberal/conservative upbringing in California I hadn't thought much about guns, let alone even thought that I would be around them and that they would be in my house.
 
When I got married my husband didn't have a gun, but he bought one soon afterward. I was not happy because it wasn't something that we had really discussed beforehand. But honestly, guns scared me. I had never known anyone that had owned a gun, or if they did it wasn't something we talked about. Guns were foreign and from everything I had been taught growing up and seen in the media, they were dangerous. Now if you're laughing and thinking I was a brainwashed liberal California girl, you have to know that Iam very open minded. I knew the gun was important to my husband, and he convinced me that a .22 was about as scary as a BB gun, so I got over it. No big deal. But what prepper can seriously just own a .22? After about 6 months he wanted another gun.  
 
I call it the “6 month itch”. About every 6 months he wants a new gun and will start to casually bring it up in conversation. He has gotten more guns over time—usually in part by persuading me through bribery. I have gone shooting with him on many occasions and I'm a pretty good shot if I do say so myself, but it's not like I'm jumping for joy and asking for my first Glock for Christmas. I still have this hesitance about them that I can't even figure out myself. 
 
Here's the thing, after many disagreements and frustration in the beginning I've actually gotten used to the idea of guns being in the house. It's not like he's going to one day decide that he hates guns and that we'll just have to claw the eyes out of people that may attack us in TEOTWAWKI. They are here to stay. But, more than just tolerating their presence, I've realized that I am actually used to having around, and—surprisingly—have come to depend on them for my safety and security.
 
I recently took a trip to visit an old friend. My friend and her family just moved into a new apartment and weren't  able to travel to the apartment, tour it and check it out beforehand. This was a big mistake on their part. They live in a fairly safe community but they moved next door to what must be the shadiest people in town. Drug dealer, getting raided by the FBI kind of shady.
 
 When we pulled up to their apartment I immediately had the “this isn't a good situation” radar blaring in my head. My friend is also concerned especially since she's home by herself all day with two very young children. Her husband isn't concerned and figures if they bring them cookies and make friends with them that they wouldn't ever harm them. I'm not necessarily worried about the shady people that actually live next door; it's the mob of similarly shady friends and distant relatives that hang out there. To top it off, my friend's place backs onto a rundown gas station. Not the best location.
 
If it were my family, we would have moved in a heartbeat, but it isn't. That night I had a really hard time sleeping and I realized that it was because my husband and his gun weren't there. I ran through all the possible scenarios that could happen to my friend's family because of their shady neighbors and poor location, and I really wished they owned a gun. Shockingly—for the first time in my life found myself wishing that I wished I had a gun. I'm used to that security and hadn't realized it until it wasn't there.
When I got home from my trip I think my husband was proud. I'm no longer the naïve girl I used to be. That's what happens when you're married to a survivalist though. I also realized to my husband's satisfaction that I'm somewhat sentimentally attached to his guns, except one of them that I think is stupid, but all the others I won't let him sell because I feel like when he bought them they represent a certain part in our marriage. Is that crazy? Well it sounds crazy.
 
This California girl has gotten over her gun fright. I'm still not in the market for a gun myself but I think I will be eventually. So if your significant other has a problem with guns, my advice is to be patient. I wish my husband had been more patient with me.  Not everyone is born into the gun culture. It takes time to understand that they aren't as dangerous as you might think, but in fact they can protect you. When TEOTWAWKI happens guns will be essential and anyone that thinks otherwise is just as naive as I was and are willing to die without a fight. I know I'm not!