My boyfriend has a gun. I don’t feel threatened by him in anyway. Should I worry about it?

[Anonymous]

[abc3643]

I am going to answer "Yes", but it's a qualified "Yes" and definitely not a strong "Yes".

I have several simple questions and, once these are answered, I can give you better advice.

1. When you say "gun", what kind of gun is it?
A. A handgun aka pistol?
B. An automatic rifle like an AR-15?
C. A normal hunting rifle?
(Does he have more than one gun?)

2. How old is he?

3. Where do you live? Just the county and the state are sufficient for me.

4. Why does he feel that he needs a gun and, in particular, the gun he has? Is it related to his job? If so, what is his job?

5. What does he think about the 2020 election?

=======
In fairness, I will give the answers to my situation:

1. I do not own a gun.

2. Obviously, I am 59.

3. I live in Franklin County Missouri, a mostly rural county that is an exurb of the Saint Louis area. Many people here have guns and this is a "very Red" county.

4. Personally, I have never felt the need to have a gun - I have some bats and 7 dogs - and, furthermore, I don't trust my wife's emotional stability, so a gun around her is dangerous. Already, I lost my middle step-son due to a self-inflicted handgun shot to the head.

I can appreciate many people owning weapons here and why, so I am not "anti-gun". I can't speak as to all the reasons why my neighbors and family are gun owners - many for hunting and "home defense".

5, For me, my answer about the 2020 election is irrelevant, but I did not vote for Trump and do not believe in "The Big Lie" that the election was stolen. I do not feel threatened by "guvmint tyrrany".

=======
The bottom-line reason why I ask these questions is that the reason WHY a person owns a gun or not goes a considerable way toward revealing the kind of person they are. Once I have a sense of the kind of gun owner your boyfriend is, I can give you better advice.

[bayoubob]

1. When you say "gun", what kind of gun is it?
A. A handgun aka pistol?
B. An automatic rifle like an AR-15?
C. A normal hunting rifle?
(Does he have more than one gun?)

What if we as most people do in RED areas? We own it all. These questions are retarded. And yes, I'm not a libtard. I'm a threat because I love guns?

[bayoubob]

What the fuck is a "normal?" gun in your definition?

[bayoubob]

AR-15's are not auto. 30 round magazine. .223/5.56, 30 cal, this and that. A normal hunting rifle? Far for more powerful. A round that can take down deer. Are you fucking stupid? So if I just had "one" gun, and it was a 10mm bear/elk/moose killer that was a semi auto glock or any brand and I had a 30 round mag for it, does that make me more evil?

[abc3643]

@bayoubob
1. I am not a major person. I have a life.
2. I don't think you're evil - yet. Lots of people own multiple guns and for good reason. The question generally is why do people want to own the guns that they own and what do they plan on doing with them?

Knowing the answers to such questions provides insight into the person. That's what @asker really needs... She needs to know if she should be worried about her relationship with her boyfriend. I won't say "Yes" and I won't say "No" because I do not know him well-enough. Again, knowing the answers to such questions provides insight into the person and permits me to give a better answer to her original question.

[hahahmm]

Where I live almost everybody has a gun. I'd be more concerned about 1. what kinds of people he associates with. If he hangs out with drug dealers or pimps beware. Being around people like that & you could easily get killed one day because someone thinks you're a narc. I've seen it happen. 2. Is he a responsible type person. Is he the type who is a safe car driver? I don't mean whether he speeds a little or not but is he careful to check for dangers & does he have a good driving history? Is the the type who follows rules when those rules are important to safety? Or is he the type who breaks rules all the time? Someone who is always breaking rules will probably not respect important gun handling rules & you can get killed by accident for being around him. 3. Does he have control of his emotions? If not then that could be a problem for you... or a problem when somebody he starts a fight with comes after you.

[CrazyGirl2]

Owning a gun doesn’t make someone a dangerous person, any more than owning a set of tools makes someone an expert mechanic! If he wanted to hurt you, he wouldn’t need a gun! Now, unless you live in a county where firearms are illegal, you worrying about this just shows your own paranoia. Maybe ask him to take you to the range and maybe you shoot it at a target see how good you can get… who knows at the end it will either change your mind or it won’t! But if this is something that bothers you THIS much just break-up with him, but don’t put this on him, this is all on you.

[GurlMaster40]

The fact that your asking people about it tells me your at least a little un easy about it. That is totally normal though. Just keep an eye out. If you start to feel more un easy, get some help.

[TheorionMage]

Ask him to take you to the range. Become 'familiar' with the gun's SAFE operation.
Functionally, its JUST an 'emotionally-charged' tool. A lead projector!

NEVER, EVER, EVER point its muzzle at anything you cannot afford to irrevocably DESTROY!
As a kid, I was a Cub Scout and our troop leader made a lasting impression
passing around a cantaloupe, the he moved us to safety behind him and
single-actioned his.45 cal revolver and shot it squarely and it EXPLODED
from hydro-static shock of the round's impact.

He then queried if ANY of us thought we could re-assemble the cantaloupe
and invited us to try. Unimpeded, that.45 cal bullet has a killing distance of nearly
TWO MILES!

NEVER let him leave such a tool irresponsibly unsecured in his absence!
He IS legally-liable and 'married to' ABSOLUTE CONTROL of its access~

[ohsheeT]

I think you should be a little bit scared there's a reason why has again I mean does he take it with him places does he keep it in his car because if that's the case then he's afraid of something if he's afraid of something then something might happen when you're in the car and that's the last thing in the world you want a lot of people his age carry a weapon for one thing and that's because they're scared of something in the old days when there was a problem we used to use our fists beat the f*** out of each other the kids nowadays are too scared that they're going to get beat up so they carry weapons and you really need to watch out for that because you can get put in the wrong place at the wrong time I would be a little bit more frightened if I was you

[bolverk]

Why would you be worried about your boyfriend owning what I'm assuming is a handgun?
If it is the hand gun that makes you nervous ask your boyfriend to take you to a range,
There you'll be able to learn about it in a controlled environment where the instructors will walk you through using a handgun step by step,
You'll see that by itself it is nothing to be nervous about being around them, and that by themselves are inert pieces of metal and plastic (even though you should always treat them as loaded, something that Alec Baldwin should have remembered).
And you should know how to use the handgun 'Just in case', that may never happen, but it is better to know how to use it than not.

[nitsuj86]

Not unless he starts breaking it out all the time, waving it around, or acting like an asshole with it. Lots of people have guns that they barely even touch. It just sits in a safe somewhere just in case.

I don't really like guns, never owned one, and shot one a few times. I just bought a house, and I plan to buy a gun at some point just in case. Hopefully never have to use it, but I don't want to be the guy without a guy if someone breaks in.

[Kiss_Me]

Is he violent or threatening? Then, No.

Just because someone owns a gun is not a reason for concern.

I own several and carry one every day, and everywhere allowed by law. I have never threatened or harmed anyone with my guns.

Have him take you to a gun range and do some shooting. You will be in a controlled, safe enviroment that has other people around. (just in case he tries "Something") It really is a lot of fun.

[HighValue]

You should worry about the price of ammo. :P
No, it's a good thing to have one. It means he likely doesn't have a criminal record, plus he can better defend you if bad people try to break into the house.

And you will always have a gift option when it comes to holidays. You can never have too much ammo. :)

[MysticDevice]

I wouldn't be. Not unless he specifically does something to make you worry.

There's a huge stigma around guns and I get why they make people nervous. The key element is the person and not the gun itself. Without a person, a gun is just an object. The person wielding it gives it purpose.

[Zachgoat308]

my dad has guns, I shot the Glock 17 Gen 3 (9mm) Glock 19 Gen 5 (9mm), Glock 19x (9mm), Rock Island 1911 (45ACP), Blackrain AR (5.56). I am planning on getting a AR and a Glock, when I move out, for home defense and sport.


There is no need to be afraid of guns. I used to go to the shooting range when I was younger, but got tired of shooting.

[purplepoppy]

Yes. sooner or later you'll have an argument over something and he'll shoot you. Most gun deaths aren't at the hands of armed robbers, most woman are shot because they forget to put sugar in the coffee.

[spartan55]

Such crap.

[MikeInHawaii]

1) Men and women kill their spouses in nearly equal numbers.
2) You make it sound like all gun owners kill their wives, when it is more like one out hundreds of thousands.

[purplepoppy]

Everyone loses their temper and does stupid things spur of the moment. I'd rather he didn't have a gun at that time.

[Aerissa_Jade]

Nothing to worry about, unless he routinely beats you up, or physically hurts you... then he might advance to that.

If he isn't doing that, your fine... why would you need to worry about it?

[Staximus]

If you don't feel threatened by him, why are you worried about the gun? Are you a dumb liberal? You rarely need a fire extinguisher but you have that, because you aren't just going to let your house catch on fire while waiting for the fire department. So if you need to shoot an animal or person that is trying to kill you, do you think that you just wait for the cops and and get killed?

[MikeInHawaii]

My sister got pinned against my dad’s house by a white tail buck. Someone had been feeding it illegally, so it had no fear of humans. My father shot it.

That same week, it was reported that there was a mass shooting at the Empire State Building. It turns out, one woman was shot by her boyfriend, and a bunch of bystanders were shot by police.

My father fired one shot and hit the deer in the rump, Apparently, an 80-year-old redneck can handle guns more competently than the NYPD.

[Pudsmucker]

Sounds like concerns you. There are small gun safes out there that's fairly inexpensive while he's with your company you may want to have him lock his pistol away. I have mine set aside in several gun safes. Makes my wife feel better that they are put away and out of sight out of mind from visiting children. I can get at them quickly.

[driven159]

is it to protect you and the household many people have guns in their house for protection because the police are not going to protect you, I have had guns for over 50 years never pulled a gun on anyone or pointed at a person yet and hope I never have to

[Anonymous]

I don’t think you should worry about it. Not unless he seems mentally unstable. Guns don’t jump up and shoot people on their own. More people get shot these days than they did before because people aren’t being protected like they were. The problem with guns right now isn’t the guns them selves and it isn’t even the bad people who have guns. The problem is the lack of good people who carry guns.

[MTC29]

The anti-gun agenda will say that you are as good as dead, but here in Florida, nearly everyone has a gun.

Unless your boyfriend is violent, I wouldn't worry about it. If he is violent, why are you still with him?

[ShadezMcgee]

Sounds like you are scared about it, honestly. Have you ever asked him why he has one in his house? How is he behavior wise? Is he a violent and angry person to you and others?

[BlacklightShade]

No. If he's not violent, doesn't have a violent past, does all the necessary safety things then you're fine.

[rosemilk]

my partner also has a gun. i don't mess with guns, but honestly it's best one of us has one for protection in any situation.

[Smoke-n-Growls]

If he's responsible, why not. But if he's your age, fuckin run, girl.

Another question: do you live in the US?

[Whatever2929292]

No in fact you should feel safe. IF someone tries to hurt you or him he has a defense. Maybe you should too!