An American politician has bragged to a National Rifle Association conference that her one-year-old granddaughter, who is soon to turn two, already owns a shotgun and a rifle, and will “soon need them”.
Kristi Noem is the Govenor of South Dakota, in the north west of the continental United States. She was elected to the role in 2019 after an endorsement from then US president Donald Trump, but she came to national prominence during the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic by refusing to mandate mask wearing throughout her state.
At the start of the pandemic South Dakota had the lowest death rate in the country, with a single death in the month of March 2020, set against a population of almost one million people. After a year-and-a-half, South Dakota’s death rate was ranked 9th overall, with just over 2,000 actual deaths.
Earlier this month, Noem was back seeking the spotlight with a speech to a National Rifle Association leadership forum, where she claimed her granddaughter, Addy, already own guns.
“Little Miss Addy who is almost two… who soon will need them, I want to reassure you, she already has a shotgun and she already has a rifle.”
Noem added that she also has a “pony named Sparkles… so the girl is set up.”
Anyone 18 or older can buy a handgun from a private individual, and they don’t need a permit, firearms registration or a background check. Additionally, ‘open carry’ – which means walking around with a firearm strapped to your hip like the old days of the wild west – is also legal in South Dakota, again with no permit required.
South Dakota, despite having one of the smallest populations in the United States (it’s ranked 46th), also has the 7th highest rate of suicide by firearm.
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