Taran Butler is one of the world’s best 3-gun shooters . He’s turned his experience and expertise into a profitable company, training for individuals and movie stars like Keanu Reeves as well as marketing competition focused gear and Taran Butler licensed firearms. While he’s made his fortune thanks to the support of Second Amendment-loving gun owners, one of his sponsored shooters — Rochelle Hathaway — believes no one should be allowed to own more than three firearms and the government should take away our guns for our own good . . .
From Glamour magazine’s article where they asked a number of women at SHOT Show about their opinions on guns:
What do you say to people who question the value of a private citizen owning a gun?
I think that if there were less guns, there would be less shootings, period. If the government came in and decided to take the guns away, I wouldn’t be mad about it. I think it’s important to be able to feel safe in your home, but you don’t need more than three guns. You don’t need to own a semiautomatic weapon or a silencer.When mass shootings or school shootings happen—like the one this week—does it ever make you rethink your position?
Going to the Second Amendment, I don’t think they had AK-47s and everything else in mind [when they imagined] the right to bear arms and protecting yourself. At SHOT show, you can kind of see how much it’s evolved into thousands and thousands of people dumping millions and millions of dollars into the industry…. I guess I’d say it’s almost unfortunate people think that they need so much.
According to sources, the interview took place in a nearby hotel room, not on the SHOT Show floor (Glamour didn’t have media credentials.) It’s not clear whether the opinions of the 28-year-old flight attendant and Instagram personality reflect the official position of Taran Tactical, but she was wearing her Taran Tactical uniform during the interview.
The article already appears to be making the rounds among anti-gun activists, many of which are trying to make it look like Taran Butler supports his employee’s anti-2A opinions.
For its part, Taran Tactical has disavowed Ms. Hathaway’s comments. Here’s their statement [via Facebook]:
We were surprised to see an article recently published in a beauty magazine quoting a promotional model and friend of our company, Rochelle Hathaway, who made certain impromptu statements to a reporter during Shot Show.
We were unaware of the interview and we did not condone the interview or the statements made by Rochelle. Rochelle has never been authorized to speak on behalf of our company or its founder, Taran Butler. As of today, we have cut all professional ties with Rochelle.
While we respect everyone’s right to free speech, Rochelle’s statements were inappropriate and do not represent our company’s vision and beliefs. We have and will always support Second Amendment rights, and we will continue to educate and promote the safe, legal ownership and handling of firearms.
Note for those in the comments:
- As stated clearly in the title, this is a sponsored shooter and not Taran himself.
- The individual was identified as a sponsored shooter and is featured in multiple YouTube videos on the Taran Tactical YouTube channel. She was not a “booth babe” hired specifically for SHOT Show.