Futility

So today I tried to get rid of Wife's handgun permanently.

My parents have been hiding it for me.  So I drove two and a half hours to their place.  Sat and talked for a few minutes.  Picked it up and drove to the police department.  Waited there for half an hour or so.  Finally talked to an officer ... who told me flatly that he couldn't accept the weapon from me if I'm not the owner, unless I could produce an actual court order forbidding Wife to own a gun.

Does it count that it was bought with community property assets?  Apparently not, ... not if it's registered to Wife.

Might it be registered to both of us?  He had never heard of a weapon registered to two people.

What if I just brought it in and said I found it somewhere?  They would trace the serial number and then telephone Wife and tell her, "We found your gun."

Oh.  Well I don't want that.  Hmmm.  Thank you very much for your time, officer, I guess I'll be going.

I drove back to my parents' house, gave it back to them, and drove to work, finally arriving in the middle of the afternoon.  Complete bloody waste of time.

But I learned a couple things.

1. Don't assume that everything I hear from Lawyer is perfectly true, until I check it out.
2. Ask more questions by phone before driving long distances.
3. Most important ... I probably have to give up the fantasy of doing anything in this separation unilaterally.  If I want the damn thing destroyed, I probably have to get Wife on board with that plan, by somehow making it worthwhile to her to go along.  Because if she asks the police to destroy the weapon, there's no problem.

Even in leaving her I have to cooperate with her.  It's ironic, but I'm sure there is a profound moral in here.  It's not one I want to hear, but that's beside the point ... how often is it ever?