Certainly it's normal to begin with a fear of guns, but it's not common, normal, or logical to maintain that fear after that 15 minutes of instruction and experience. And that's what our beloved Dr. is suggesting, I believe. She should have stressed the gun safety and instruction instead of giving in to all the uninformed stereotypes like "guns are creepy and dangerous, you SHOULD be afraid!"
Agreed. So if she's still afraid of them after doing that... then it's not normal apprehension, and if she remains afraid (which most of us know is unlikely) then it's not a bad idea to offer her the advice that she doesn't HAVE to accept them. I don't force guns on people who are afraid of them, but that's just me. The woman should give it a fair shot, and that fair shot includes an 'out'. It's not "try this and you better like it or ELSE we're going to force it on you anyway... now don't be scared!"
If I saw all the ridicule being aimed only at the weak part of Dr. Joyce's response, while seeing better advice offered here on the thread, I'd have no problem with the tone of the thread. But many here mocked the woman for even worrying about it, when the more constructive response from all of us SHOULD HAVE BEEN to wish she was a friend of ours, so we could show her just how safe they can be. Instead, many have reacted with scorn and ridicule toward this woman for even expressing any fear.