At the London Olympics, Kim Rhode was taken back when asked about gun control. Now we are more used to seeing the headline, "American shooter speaks on gun control."
Now, the most decorated United States shooter in history is very proud to speak her mind on the issue.
American Shooter Speaks on Gun Control
To say that Rhode is a supporter of the right to bear arms would be an understatement. Per Range 365, Rhode was quoted as saying: “The Second Amendment was put in there not just so we can go shoot skeet or go shoot trap. It was put in so we could defend our first amendment, the freedom of speech, and also to defend ourselves against our own government.”
Rhode is competed in the Olympics in Brazil. She plans to pass these same values on to her 3 year old son.
“I hope to have him out there shooting, when he becomes of age,” she says in the story. “I started when I was like 7 or 8 years old, and it was something that was a big deal in my family, to gain that right of passage.”
“The six-time Olympian says she understands the impulse behind the push for tighter gun laws––but doesn’t agree with them. The December 2015 shooting in San Bernardino, Calif., where a married couple shot 14 people and seriously injured 22 more, struck particularly close to home. Rhode lives near Los Angeles and her parents own property in the area around San Bernardino. ‘My heart breaks for those people,’ Rhode tells TIME, but such tragedies ‘make we want to carry even more.’”
“Indeed, Rhode says a series of gun control measures passed in California following the San Bernardino attack are onerous and a misguided response to the tragedy. ‘I shoot 500 to 1,000 rounds a day, so having to do a background check every time I purchase ammo, or every time I want to bring ammo in or out of a competition or a match, those are very challenging for me,’ says Rhode. ‘Also, I’ve had guns in my family for generations that have been passed down, and now I’m going to register them as assault weapons. And they will not be passed on to my son, or to me from my father. It definitely does affect me and give me a reason to speak out more.’"
Rhode has also stated that her views on gun control has cost her sponsorships. But that isn't changing her views or keeping her from talking about. You can see her compete in shooting for the first time at the Rio Games on August 12.
