An 11-year-old girl appeared at a gun legislation hearing in Idaho’s capital Monday wearing a loaded AR-15 rifle slung over her shoulder.
The girl, Bailey Nielsen, was accompanied by her grandfather, Charles Nielsen, who spoke to a House panel at the Idaho Statehouse in support of legislation that would allow visitors to Idaho who can legally possess firearms – but not necessarily do – to carry a concealed handgun in urban areas. “Bailey is carrying a loaded AR-15,” Charles Nielsen told lawmakers. “People live in fear, terrified of that which they do not understand.
She’s been shooting since she was 5 years old. She got her first deer with this weapon at 9. She carries it responsibly. She knows how not to put her finger on the trigger. We live in fear in a society that is fed fear on a daily basis.” He said Bailey was an example of someone who could responsibly handle a gun and lawmakers should extend that to nonresidents. “When they come to Idaho, they should be able to carry concealed, because they carry responsibly,” he said. “They’re law-abiding citizens. It’s the criminal we have to worry about.” Republican Rep. Christy Zito, who is proposing the measure opposed by the three Democrats on the House State Affairs Committee, said the legislation is intended to clear up confusion about state gun laws.