There's also another winner out there, and I think I can safely say it's all of us right thinking people who believe in the 2nd Amendment.
When I first started dating my wife, she was upfront about the fact that she had a child from her first marriage. I was fine with that, as the kid lived with his dad. I'd see him during their visits together, and figured he was a good kid. No problems here.
Now, among the things that I gradually impressed on my then-girlfriend was how important firearms were to me. She was pretty surprised at that, since I didn't own any at that time, but that was due to finances, not will. My wife had also had some bad experiences with firearms owners (not the guns themselves) and was rather worried about buying a gun. It took some talking and explaining, plus many uses of Kim du Toit's writing as well as Mrs. du Toit's and Rachel Lucas, but I was able to convince her to purchase a .38 Special revolver together. (New motto: The family that shoots together, stays together!) We went to just about every gun store in the Seattle area, and finally found the gun in a shop in Woodinville. A Smith & Wesson Mod. 37 Airlite in .38 Special. We went to the range, bought 100 rounds of ammo, and let fly.
And as we walked out of the range, she turned to me and asked "So when are you getting your gun?"
She's still not as interested in shooting as I am, but she can handle just about any gun as Analog Kid and Mollbot can attest. She's the only woman I know of who's fired a double-barreled 10 gauge shotgun. She's fired a 50 BMG bolt-action rifle, and launched bullets with just about any gun I've managed to hand her. We applied for our concealed weapons permits on the same day, and received them on the same day. We both carry on road trips, when any help is far away. On our honeymoon when we were out in the boonies she had that .38 Special pistol, HER pistol, on her belt. We helped out a couple people with car problems, and I knew that if some jerk tried anything while I was helping them change a tire, my wife would put several holes in them pretty damn quick. Needless to say, I'm damn proud of her, and knowing that she can take care of herself in any situation makes me feel much more secure.
Now, as I was going to the range more often, it would stand to reason that I would have an opportunity to take my wife's son. His dad and his step-mom are both... shall we say... left leaning. Jake had almost no experience with firearms, short of watching people fire off a few rounds now and then. I put the proposal forward to my wife, who took it to her ex, who to my surprise accepted. I could take Jake to the range. Here's his first time out.
Well, he enjoyed shooting. So I took him to the range again. Soon, I was taking him to the range just about every time he came to visit with us. Both AK and Mollbot have met him. In fact, Jake was rather taken with Mollbot's .22 revolver. Given the chance, he'd set aside my .22 rifle, pick up that revolver and occupy himself for hours. We'd be in lanes next to each other, punching little holes in paper. He's a decent shot with the rifle, and getting better with a pistol. Once he demonstrates proficiency with the .22 revolver, he'll be working on his mother's .38 and my .45 ACP.
But therein lies the problem. How can he perfect his shooting with a .22 revolver when the gun he shoots belongs to Mollbot?
The answer:
Kim, I hope you're reading this. Thanks in part to your and your wife's writing, I convinced my wife to pick up firearms again. She can shoot every gun in the house and has her CWP. Her son is now the proud owner of his very own .22 revolver. Another rifleman has joined the ranks.
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