Need to Vent/Seeking Advice...Wife Strongly Opposed.

Long-time lurker, first-time poster, wanting to make my first firearm purchase and start carrying, but I'm bumping up against resistance.My wife is strongly opposed to having a firearm in the house, especially if it means that I would be carrying it on a daily basis. She is not anti-gun, and does not have a problem with guns themselves. She thinks that the two of us owning one is beyond unecessary.We have a membership at a range that allows us to rent, and while I am there on nearly a weekly basis, she has not been in months, due to her discomfort and lack of confidence with handling a weapon. If she's around I'll onvite her along when I go, but the answer is always no. We don't exactly live in the hood, but we're still in an area in which I exercise a lot of caution when going out at night, and there are certain areas that I completely avoid, just within 1/2 square mile.Something that should be noted is that I work in corrections, and I have been for approximately eight months. I'm in close contact with convicted felons on a daily basis, many of whom are prone to violence, and live in the same county as I do. While it has not happened yet, the chances of me running into a former inmate on the street is very high. CO's are not very popular amongst inmates, and it's not uncommon for them to feel a certain way about it when they get out. Especially if an encounter occurs while I am with my wife, my safety and her safety is not something that I want to leave to chance. Some of these guys wouldn't piss on my face if it was on fire, knowing that, I'm not interested in being at their mercy in a surprise encounter at Sunoco. I have wanted to carry since before I became a CO, however, I see the potential to be recognized on the street as something that makes this a more urgent matter.My wife views my decision to carry a flashlight and pepper spray everywhere as silly, and being cautious about where I park/sitting in a position in which I can see the door while in public as paranoid. She rolled her eyes when I purchased fire extinguishers to leave in our vehicles. In no way does she deny the risks of being the victim of a violent crime due to where we live & my occupation, rather, her way of looking at it is "if it happens, it happens". To her, my desire to protect the two of us is an irrational desire to control everything. She rarely carries a flashlight at night, and pepper spray at all, for the same reason...."if it happens, it happens". I love her, but this seems like a very irresponsible way to look at life. Addressing this results in the argument that I am trying to control too much.While being prepared is something I take seriously, I don't try to force any ideas or philosophies onto her. The topic of owning a firearm escalated into an actual argument twice, both times I backed off (probably too late in the conversation anyways) because it's not my intent to forcibly change her mind; a person makes their own decisions, and this is something that I can't make up her mind about. Again, she is not in denial of the world we live in...just an opinion on defending oneself (or not) that troubles me.It has been suggested to me by guys at the range to just go ahead and start carrying, but considering how vocal she has been, to go out and purchase a gun tomorrow would be percieved as a deliberate slap in the face. I love her, I want to protect her and myself, but I think something like that would destroy any chance at making progress on this issue in the future.A bit longer than I would have hoped, apologies for taking a while to get to the point. Somewhat of a rant, as I don't know anyone well enough to confide in them who also shares the same interest in firearms...but has anyone here had a similar experience with a loved one?TLDR; wife is strongly opposed to my owning a gun, claims it is an excessive desire to control everything around me. via /r/CCW http://ift.tt/2DQX6JL