Uncle relays a story from one of his readers. I agree with Tam‘s assessment in the comments:
You know, not everyone is going to be a shooter, for whatever reason.
I don’t hang out on any golf-specific web forums, but are guys there as worried about getting their wives to come golfing with them as male shooters are to get their S.O. to the range?
I’ve only known a couple of women who were shooters and who had beaux that weren’t at all interested, and neither one really wrung her hands about getting her fella to the range.
She’s right that not everyone is going to be a shooter, but I think I can explain the male mind here. Golf players don’t sweat their sport. No one repeatedly accuses golfers of wanting to murder children, or causing inner city crime. There’s no strong political movement dedicated to the eradication of their “barbaric sport”. I think for a lot of guys they are seeking a bit of affirmation that the significant other really is OK with what they are doing, and won’t someday join with the chorus of people who look down on him because he likes to play with baby killing bullet hoses.
I know women who have never touched a gun, just simply have no desire to go to the range, and yet are very passionate about 2A rights.
People need to realize that this isn’t always about who goes to the range the most or who owns the most guns. There are uses for pro-gun people in the movement off the range, and in fact, that’s where we may need the most help.
That said, I know in Mass., we had a great gun club community. It was just about shooting, we had paid members of the gun club – mostly women – who supported gun rights and fought gun control, but they didn’t care about shooting. They liked doing the Christmas parties, getting together to do the lunch fundraisers for the trap competitions, and otherwise building the community around shooting participation. Men shouldn’t discount that.
Valid point, but also If somebody attempts to rape my wife while I’m elsewhere, the quality of her drive isn’t going to to make much of a difference in her situation (even if she has a nice 9-iron in hand…that extra reach may help…but against a street monster???)
Meanwhile a nice .38 tucked in her waistband or purse could make a LOT of difference.
Also in golf clubs are called “Clubs” for a reason. Every young child is taught and re-taught the way to safely handle a club-like-object. We all know not to swing one around aimlessly, we know not to do it in a place that has little room. We always know to check our backswing as well as what we’re swining at, and we know you don’t swing a club at anything you don’t mind getting destroyed.
Meanwhile not only do most people know nothing of the 4 rules of gun safty, but Hollywood et al do whatever they can to show UNSAFE gun behavior with no conciquence (When was the last time you saw a TV or Movie cop get “Cop Leg” because they forgot rule 3?…meanwhile the Three Stooges et al are PRIME examples of EXACTLY what happens when you swing a club when you’re not looking)
So in the end the differences are HUGE
Weer’d beat me to it.
250 yard drives and an excellent short game aren’t going to save my wife’s life when she’s getting off work late, the parking lot is dark and there’s no one around to see her being abducted, robbed or murdered.
Shooting can be a hobby, but I think for most of us it’s much more than that. It has as much or more to do with the duty of self defense as it does with spending an enjoyable afternoon poking holes in paper.
With that said, my wife was raised in a very liberal family. I’ve helped her recover from most of the damage that did to her but she still doesn’t really enjoy shooting. She knows how, she knows the rules, I’m satisfied she can make the bullets go where she’s pointing them, but she’s just not that interested in it as a hobby.
I wish she would shoot more, but I can’t make her and trying to force her or nagging about it would only make her resent it; so: to each their own. As long as she doesn’t begrudge me my range time, she’s free to pursue her own interests. That doesn’t in the least deny me “affirmation.” But I speak only for myself. I’m sure there are some that you accurately describe.
I think that the desire to see their wife be able to protect herself is definitely one aspect, but this doesn’t encompass the entire set of guys who want to get the women in their life to the range.
In respect to self-defense, I have more than a few women friends who I don’t think are capable of carrying a firearm because they don’t have the psychological makeup necessary to pull the trigger, even if their lives are in danger. The other correlary to the title of this post would be “Not Everyone Will Carry a Gun”
I dunno about other guys, but I love sharing hobbies with my wife. Sadly guns aren’t one of them. That may change, but I’m not holding my breath. Still I’ve always been a video game head, now we just bought a Wii and the wife and I play regularly together. WAYYY better than solo. We hike, camp and canoe together. Also a pleasure. My wife DOES like shooting trap, and those trips to the range are ALWAYS a hoot.
Could you blame me for being excited if my wife suddenly expressed an interest in handloading or collecting C&R guns?
The hobby side is her choice. The safty thing, while not somthing I foce, I uge on a different level.
“baby killing bullet hoses”
Aren’t they opening for The Old 97’s at the Palladium on Friday?