Speaking from the games in Rio de Janeiro, U.S. Olympic shooter Kim Rhode said she is pro-concealed carry and against the plethora of new gun controls passed by California lawmakers and signed by Governor Jerry Brown (D).
Rhode intimated that some find it strange that an Olympian speaks out on political issues back home, but she believes the times demand it. She said, “I’m definitely becoming more vocal because I see the need.”
According to The Guardian, Rhode said:
We just had six laws that were passed in California that will directly affect me. For example, one of them being an ammunition law. I shoot 500 to 1,000 rounds a day, having to do a background check every time I purchase ammo or when I bring ammo out for a competition or a match – those are very, very challenging for me.
Rhode is referencing the six gun controls Brown signed into law on July 1, part of what was referred to as “gunpocalypse.” That legislation included a bill that outlawed the possession of “high capacity” magazines and another which expanded the state’s “assault weapons” ban. It included another bill that requires ammunition purchasers to go through a background check every time they purchase ammunition.
Ammunition background checks will certainly be used to build a database on ammo owners in the same way that California has used firearm purchaser background checks and firearm registration to compile a database on gun owners.
Rhode sees hindrances to freedom at every turn with these new gun laws–not hindrances to criminals, but to law-abiding citizens.
The Guardian asked Rhode about gun control as a response to “mass shootings” and crime in general. Rhode responded:
When you look at these events that have been occurring, they’ve been occurring in some of the strictest gun law countries in the world. You have Paris, you have San Bernardino, which was actually in a gun-free zone, so, yeah, it’s actually something that you take into consideration.
For me personally, I realize the first responsibility of a police officer is to respond to an incident and for me personally, in that five minutes or 10 minutes or 20 minutes in some cases that it takes for them to get there, how do you want to stand there? I would rather have my second amendment right.
Rhode is a triple gold medalist.
AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.
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