What would people do if a girlfriend or boyfriend felt threatened by a dangerous snak
 

I'm not comfortable with the idea of killing a rattlesnake even though I wouldn't want to have one; but if you were with someone who you liked really well; and she wanted it dead, what would you do?

If I had a wife, girlfriend, buddy or acquaintance that wanted me to kill a snake for any reason, venomous or not, I would most likely come to the conclusion that there was no place in my life for that person.
So no, I would not kill the snake.

I guess when it comes to those rattlesnakes that you'll hear nightmare stories about, there's one way of euthanizing one so that it wouldn't suffer too much. I mean if I was with someone, I'd be concerned for her safety, especially if one's rattling its tail. I'd try to get her as far away for the creature as possible. As for doing it in a way that's fairly merciful, I carry diabetic supplies on me a lot; and if there was a stick around, I could draw up a high dosage of insulin and pin one to the ground long enough to do an injection; but hopefully, I'll never be in that position.

I'm with Herpin Man on this- I'd never kill a snake, and anyone who thinks I would do it for them is vastly mistaken...that person would be out of my life, unless I could educate them about snakes. I would certainly try to enlighten them first, but I love rattlesnakes especially, cold day in hell before I'd kill one. I've rescued & relocated quite a few, & kept some for many years. Heck, it's not as if they chase you, all you have to do is walk away, so there's no excuse to kill them. They have a lot of personality when you actually live with them as I have.

I wouldn't kill it... But I would have a prior understanding with my SO (I'm the girl) that there's to be nothing that can kill you with a single bite. If he went against my wishes, it'd be me or the animal. Technically we have a dog that could kill with a single bite, but.. he was raised, and is very different from a reptile.

I couldn't date a man who wanted me to kill a wild animal for no reason. If I'm hiking with someone, and they beg me to kill a snake, I'd turn around and leave them out there. I've ended dates with guys who couldn't wait to tell me about the time they killed a "dangerous snake."

Some people are just plain afraid of snakes, on a level they can not control. I never hold that against a person, and have relocated many rattlesnakes for friends and neighbors that couldn't bring themselves to leave the house with one outside. I think this works better than storming off, simply because they are afraid.

I wouldn't storm off if they were merely expressing fear. Only if they were demanding the death of the animal.

Unless you are using a firearm, which has its own set of problems if you are in a populated area, then killing a rattlesnake means getting close enough to it that it can bite you. Just leave it alone.

Agreed.
Typically, if there is space and time to discuss killing it, then there is space and time to avoid it.