I can certainly say this. I would have asked that it be entirely out of reach of children or out of sight of children.
Mr. Jenner. Well, when the FBI agent interviewed you on November 1, had you known of the existence of the rifle on the floor of the garage, what is your present thought as to what you might have done with respect to advising the FBI of its existence?
Mrs. Paine. I would seriously doubt that I would have considered it of significance to the FBI. I know that a great many people in Texas go deer hunting. As one of the FBI agents said to me after the assassination, he surmised that every other house in the street had a rifle, a deer rifle.
I would have simply considered this was offensive to me, but of no consequence or interest to them.
Mr. Jenner. You see what I am getting at. Would the existence of your knowledge of the rifle on the floor of your garage, connected with Lee Oswald's history as you knew it up to that point, and some of the suspicions that you voiced in your testimony with respect to Lee Oswald, have led you to be apprehensive out of the ordinary as to the existence of that rifle on the floor of your garage?
Mrs. Paine. I don't believe I would have assumed that this rifle was for any other purpose than deer hunting.
Mr. Jenner. Did the FBI, any of the FBI agents inquire of you prior to November 22, 1963, as to whether there were any firearms in and about your home?
Mrs. Paine. No.
Mr. Jenner. Did any FBI agent inquire of you as to whether you thought there was any suspicious—anything suspicious about Lee Harvey Oswald that caused you any concern with respect to the safety of the Government of the United States or any individual in it, in that Government?
Mrs. Paine. No; they made no such inquiry.