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While at my brother's house this afternoon for a Christmas get together, my nephew's wife decided to show off the Christmas present my nephew had given her. She proceeded to open a box and displayed a new Bersa Thunder .380. Both my brothers (one her father-in-law) immediately started in on her with "Why do you need that?" and "It'd be safer if people didn't have guns" etc. . On the other hand, I went to her side and admired the gun and made some comments about her need to be able to defend herself as my nephew works midnight shifts leaving her (27 yoa) home alone with two small children overnight. Again both brothers made comments about being 50 something years old and never needing a gun and didn't see the need. My response was that I'd rather have a gun and never need one than to not have one and need it. Getting nowhere with each other, the conversation went elsewhere.

On a side note, I asked my nephew's wife if she had any ammo as .380 ammo is very hard to find. She said that they bought the gun from Academy and the sales guy told them that as soon as the .380 ammo came in it was gone, so no she didn't have any. I knew that she would have a hard time finding some so I offered to give her at least one box from my limited stock so she could at least try out her new gun. Then she made an interesting comment - the sales guy at Academy told her that she could carry the gun legally as long as it wasn't loaded! I pointed out to her that the Motorist Protection Act allowed the carrying of (loaded) handguns in her car but she could not carry it around in her purse without a CHL. She stated that a CHL was her next goal.

I'm going to have to spend some time educating her on carrying and handgun safety as she was showing me how the Bersa had a "key" so "I can lock it when its in my purse" - No, you don't want to lock it when you are carrying, you lock it when home and the kids are around. Seeing as how her father-in-law (my brother) was negative about the situation, I'll do my best to assist her.

Commander:

Kudos to you sir for assisting a new shooter.

Let her know about the 4 rules, take her to a range, and update
her on MPA, Castle Doctrine, and CHL.

Would it be possible for her husband or you to spring for a professional
gun safety/tactics class?

Let her know that in the most recent year for which we have stats (as of
12/31/2008), that 18% of newly issued CHL's were to women. She's not alone
in wanting to protect herself.

SIA

Sounds like you have her on the right track. I would recommend pointing her toward this forum to get a variety of opinions from well informed individuals and second everything that SIA had to say above.

BTW, good job standing your ground with your brothers - that is how we should all contribute to the RKBA.

Good job! BTW, the best counter that I've heard about not needing a gun, etc., is to respond with something to the effect of never needing a seatbelt, etc.

Good luck on finding some .380 ammo.

It is good she got the gun and is willing to do what it takes to safely handle and use it. It is hard when family gives opinions of things they know nothing about.

You did good and I hope you stay after her and don't expect she will actively seek the education and instruction she needs, though she may. The only thing I would suggest is that she/you get a pistol safe that she can use instead of the garbage that they put in those guns. Those keys and locks are not easy to work in a stressful situation. The gun needs to be available and where she can get to it quickly and open it quickly in a stressful situation. I am sure you know all this. I just don't want her to have a loaded gun for protection but not be able to get the thing unlocked because she can't work the lock or lost the key. And please tell her how important it is to educate the kids on not touching the gun and such too.

Good job. Now slap your brothers around a little bit for being ignorant about firearms for protection. They sound like the types who think guns are only for duck hunters. You should take her to the range and help her get started properly. Nothing is more frustrating to a new shooter than not being able to hit the target. She should be easy to work with since she is a clean slate. If you show her proper stance, grip and sight alignment she will be off to a good start.