...why you want a gun. Are you looking for home defense, personal defense, end-of-world societal breakdown, or you just want to enjoy a fantastic hobby/sport?

Either way my advice would be to first look at getting a .22 pistol & then a cheap pump shotgun for home defense. Buy the .22 pistol and shoot the crap out of it. It's no longer free to shoot .22's, but it's cheaper than anything else right now. Along the way get a CCP and a little firearms training. After you've put 4-5,00 rounds down range you will know/understand a lot better what kind of gun you might want. Don't pay to much attention to people at the gun range until you see how well they shoot...lots of opinions, mostly BS.

I'd look at a .22 pistol by either Ruger or Browning...stay away from cheap crap, it will only lead to frustration...& frustration leads to anger, and anger leads to... . Same with a shotgun. No need to go real fancy, a Remington 870 or a Mossberg 500...& I'd even be tempted to err on the side of a 20 gauge instead of a 12. But get the .22 first. Shoot the crap out of it, clean it repeatedly, & in a few months you will know far more what kind of gun you want. Handling one in a store or even briefly shooting one on a range won't give you the right perspective. (It doesn't have to be a .22...it's just the cheapest, softest shooting ammo. I think if everyone shot 5,000 rounds with a 38 Super they would come to the same conclusion...but it would cost them some $$$$$.)

Find a friend who likes to shoot and ask them to take you shooting...or if you are ever in Utah & would like to go let me know. I'd be happy to take you & your wife shooting. I took my daughter & her roommate not too long ago & led them slowly from .22's through .38's, 9mm, .357, .45, all the way up to full load .44 mag. It just warms my heart to see a young girl with a liberal bent start out hating guns and end up with happy dreams of making squash disappear with a .44 mag.

You might find that guns are a fantastic, wonderful sport...worse than photography or scuba diving for reducing $$$ to things; but one of the greatest joys when it's done well.

—Robert