Shyanne Roberts, 9, recently testified before a New Jersey legislative committee considering additional gun control legislation .
Roberts is a fourth grade honor student and competitive shooting prodigy who spoke out against a bill that would limit magazine capacity to 10 rounds rather than the standard 15. The bill, A2006, would make her competitive shooting career illegal, according to Roberts.
Said Roberts: “I am not a ‘gang banger or domestic terrorist’ as a certain vocal supporter of this bill claimed two weeks ago in the Star Ledger. This bill, if it becomes law, will severely impact me and a million other gun owners… I have worked and trained very hard to get to the level I am at, and if A2006 becomes law, I will be forced to choose between giving up on a very great and promising future in a sport that I love or asking my dad to move to another state. I will not be giving up my sport.”
Added Roberts about the proposed gun control legislation and its effect on law-abiding citizens: “Everyone is upset about bad people doing bad things to others, but punishing the people who didn’t do anything wrong is not the way to stop bad people. If it wasn’t against the law, I would’ve brought one of my competition guns with me today to show you it won’t do anything unless someone touches it.”
Despite Roberts’ compelling testimony (see embed below), the Law and Public Safety Committee of the New Jersey Assembly approved the bill by a 5-3 vote. On Thursday, the full state Assembly passed the legislation by a 46-31 vote, although it has yet to be scheduled for a vote in the state Senate. Gov. Chris Christie has not expressed an opinion on what he would do if the bill ever reaches his desk.
Shyanne’s dad Dan is a certified firearms instructor. In an interview , he explained “that with a 10-round magazine, she’d have to reload her gun more often than her rivals from other states during a competition. Roberts… taught his daughter how to shoot when she was four and then noticed as time went on that Shyanne had a ‘natural talent’ for it.”
