This year’s winner of the Miss USA pageant used her platform before her victory on Monday to call for “gun safety” and mandatory training to own a firearm.
Asya Branch, the first winner from Mississippi, told the crowd at Elvis Presley’s Graceland that her personal experience with firearms has been positive but that all gun owners should be required to pass “training and safety courses.”
“As someone who grew up in a home with guns, I learned at an early age how to load, how to fire, and gun safety, and I think that education should be available to everyone,” Branch said. “We should require people to pass training and safety courses before they’re allowed to purchase a gun, and before receiving a permit.”
Branch insisted that she doesn’t want to ban guns and that the Second Amendment is important, but she reiterated the need for “more safety surrounding that.”
“I think it’s important that we not ban guns, because obviously people will find a way to get what they want anyways, but I think it’s our Second Amendment right, and we just need more safety surrounding that.”
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Branch delivered her comments during a segment of the competition that asked contestants to speak for 30 seconds on a topic randomly selected from a box. Branch received a card that read “gun laws.”
Branch hasn’t been shy about her upbringing on a Mississippi farm or her support of President Trump. Branch touted her participation in a round table at the White House on criminal justice reform, and she performed the Star-Spangled Banner at a rally for President Trump in Mississippi.
She’s also posted images and video of herself clay shooting from May of last year after winning Miss Mississippi.
Branch’s support of mandatory safety courses for gun ownership hasn’t stopped the corporate media from touting her as a gun-loving Trump supporter. The Daily Beast headline reads, “New Miss USA Asya Branch Loves Guns and Performed at a Trump Rally,” and the Daily Mail’s headline reads, “Asya Branch, 22, is a gun-loving Trump fan.”
SEE ALSO: Jackson Mayor Uses COVID-19 to Ban Open Carry, Calls For Its Full Repeal in Mississippi
Earlier in the contest, Branch called for unity in response to a question about how America could come together after President Trump’s impending defeat.
“I think this is an issue of trust,” she responded. “We’ve lost trust in the systems that seem to keep our country running, from the media to business to our government.”
“And it’s all about restoring that trust and coming together and working together to heal and trust in these systems. If we want to continue to be the greatest nation we’re going to have to set a better example.”
Will the hoodlums also be required to get training and a ‘permit’?
…keep strutting the stages young lady…keep your mouth shut and go “influence” somebody on youtube…gun owners will continue doing what we do…
She needs to get training on her vagina. It is dangerous and possibly even get her pregnant-and as Obama said, that might ruin her life. Mandatory training and registration.
As a Certified Trainer, I would love for everyone to take a basic safety class, that being said, she also wants everyone to get a permit! My permit comes from the Constitution! Do I practice safe gun handling everytime I pick one up, damn straight I do! It’s also an individual’s right not to take one! Have I seen those that are scary as hell when handling them, hell yes, and I say something to them about it! Who is going to make all the punk ass gangbangers take a safety class? Will it insure that no innocent people get killed, NO! Will it ensure only other ass holes get killed, NO! How about quit being pussies and start using the death penalty as it was intended! How about quit sending innocent people to prison that were protecting their friends, family, or property! How about making lawyers and judges that plea bargain charges down to a slap on the wrist, do the time with the punks when they get caught AGAIN doing criminal activity! There is no deterrent in the court system, that’s where the blame lies along with the criminals! She must be a college student, no brains but loves to run her mouth about things she knows nothing about!
“…I think that education should be available to everyone”
To whom is it not available?
To those who can not read & lived under a rock for the last 20 or so year.
In a free country it should be left up to the individual to educate themselves. I’m far right wing though so…
This is exactly what bugs me about the 2A crowd. Even something rational like championing firearms training is seen as anti-gun.
I’m all for people being able to get whatever firearm they want, but I too think people should take basic firearm and safety class. Calm down billy bob…no one is taking your gun. They actually want to help you and prevent so many of you from accidentally shooting yourselves.
Is that what your bureaucrat overlords are “championing’? What happens when the government “solution” proves ineffective, as it always does? Your phony assurances to billy bob are as reassuring as “you can keep your doctor”.
I’m all for getting training, but that is an individual thing, not giving the govt the naysay on a permit until ‘their’ training is completed.
THE 2A ‘crowd’ is heavily into VOLUNTARY training and has been for years. For a concealed carry licensing, training is mandatory. WHO is going to do this ‘training’? WHAT are the penalties for not training. Let’s not put blame where it never belonged in the first place.
If only I had been trained not to shoot myself in the foot.
I don’t think anybody in 2nd A crowd discourages firearm training. We are just skeptical of MANDATED state so called training.
“They only want to help you…” Grow up, when has anyone who advocates for increased restrictions ever stopped? Hell, even the NRA waffles on some gun issues. I believe folks should get firearms training when purchasing their first gun, but the operative word is should, period. It is not and cannot be a requirement to have training to exercise one’s Constitutional right, which is what she advocated.
How about mandatory training on the Constitution before being able to vote. That’s rational, right? What maniac would oppose that.
If the government knows best then why in Pa. did they mandate seat belts and at the same time repeal the helmet law. It is all about the control not as much as the guns. Covid19 should have taught us that!
Actually, mandatory gun safety testing is the law in California (where I live) and it hasn’t stopped me from building a decent collection of boomsticks and pistols. Personally, I think gun safety should be standard curricula in schools; Primary—the Eddie Eagle routine for small kids, Middle—repeat of the Eddie Eagle thing and explanation of how firearms work and how to handle them safely. Funally, High-school, the same damn test I have to take for my firearms card – after a week’s instruction on firearms and their handling.
If our younger people know about firearms and how to handle them safely, I suspect there will be a lot fewer accidental injuries and kids will know how to deal with active shooters.
While I am totally 2A, I don’t support the idea of “Anybody can buy whatever they can afford”. We don’t do that with cars, (which are far more lethal than any firearm ever dreamed of being) so why should we do it with something that we, as free people, have a right to possess? Remember, Rights = Responsibilities, not License.”
Now back to looking for a decent Mauser K-97 in .308. They are out there but sadly most of them are trashed by the time they get to me. Ah well, the search is part of the game…
What cars can’t a person buy if they can afford them? I think you must be referring to age of the purchaser.
“ While I am totally 2A, I don’t support the idea of “Anybody can buy whatever they can afford”.” With that sentence you just proved you are not “totally 2A”….and you follow it up with the classic Anti argument about cars. Go be a plant for Bloomberg and Watts elsewhere. I’m a native Californian and that state’s firearm laws are draconian at best, with no discernible benefit other than limiting one’s rights…”gun control” is all about control, but of people, not of firearms. Living in Nebraska it’s a paradise in comparison to CA when it comes to practicing one’s firearms rights, and our metropolitan/rural violent crime rate is exponentially lower than CA’s.
“We should require people to pass training and safety courses before they’re allowed to speak publicly, and before receiving a permit.”
Could we append that to: Running for Political Office, Accepting an Appointment for Government Service and maybe even taking religious orders? Lot of loose cannons in those positions.
I’d be okay if we change our K-12 public education system to require a Constitution/gun safety course – all in one course. But as for requiring training and permits for a law abiding system to purchase a firearm – hell no. The 2A is very clear “shall not be infringed”. Sure, training is important but it should be a choice – not another gun control law.
More liberal, anti-American garbage.
The schools should have some safety training about what to do if they find a gun(K-5th grade), along with Eddie Eagle. In middle school, safe handling of a firearm 4 rules should be taught. I think a hands on class should be required, but that would never fly in the big cities.
The point here is that there are safety rules and instruction manuals for all mechanical goods, you are a fool if you do not read the instructions. A safety class could be a store employee going over the operating manual with the buyer, maybe 5-10 multiple choice questions to be answered(like the driver’s license test at the DMV). It should be minimal and free. We should be able to expect that anyone selling guns and ammo at a gun counter should know the basics.
Obviously, the 2nd Amendment does not require “proper training” to allow one to protect him/herself from predators. To “require” training in order to own a firearm, is a bit overreaching of the law, since it is, after all, a right before any such law. But I have to agree with her that people should get their training, or at least have a test of some kind before carrying in public. I mean, in a stressed situation, the wrong person with a firearm is more likely to make a bad situation worse, if they make wrong decisions, such as supplying a bad guy with their brandished firearm, or harming an innocent bystander.
As a Chief Range Safety Officer, supervising range shooters, you understand that firearm ownership, without an understanding of safety, is dangerous to the shooter and others around them. Instilling the importance of safety in firearm ownership is critical. The 2nd Amendment addressed a need for the people to protect themselves from corrupt governments or dictators and, at the time it was written, spoke to a majority of people who used firearms to hunt and provide food for their families. Today, millions of firearm owners have never hunted and are thinking only of personal protection. I believe over 45 states require hunter safety classes. Why, because hunter safety courses prevent accidents and save lives.
The most a new firearm owner learns from the gun shop are loading and clearing. A mandatory four hour class should teach: Safety – 1. ALWAYS keep the gun pointed in a safe direction 2. ALWAYS keep your finger off the trigger until ready to shoot 3. ALWAYS keep the gun unloaded until ready to use and the importance of muzzle and trigger control. Understanding in detail how to operate, breakdown, clean and reassemble the firearm. Shooting Basics: Stance, Breathing, Trigger, Sight Picture and Hold. Firearm Etiquette – how to receive a give a firearm to another person. State Laws: transportation, storage and self protection.
It’s time to repeal the uniformed laws imposed in many states and put into place Mandatory Training for new gun owners.
People should get training, but they should never be required to have training as a means to exercise their Constitutional rights. Sounds like a poll tax. My guess is you’re just a shill looking to benefit from having more folks pay for your classes. Tell you what, you should be required to provide said training for free, without compensation, if you believe it is so important. I mean, it’s the common sense thing to do.
My guess is you’re just a shill looking to benefit from having more folks pay for your classes. Tell you what, you should be required to provide said training for free, without compensation, if you believe it is so important. I mean, it’s the common sense thing to do.
Eric, before you “agree with her” can you establish if Branch agrees with herself?
She stated: ” “As someone who grew up in a home with guns, I learned at an early age how to load, how to fire, and gun safety, and I think that education should be available to everyone, . . .We should require people to pass training and safety courses before they’re allowed to purchase a gun, and before receiving a permit.”
So, Branch cites her home as the only source for her firearm training and yet she supports training requirement for everyone else. It seems to me that training is “available to everyone” already and she should list her certificates to at least prove her sincerity.
Duh, the rules don’t apply to Miss USA!
Once the word ( but ) came out of her piehole she proves she is a fudd and Not PRO 2A
Besides she has placed her body in front of her BRAINS
Slippery slope, this is.
Once the word ( but ) came put of her pue hole she proves she is a fudd and Not PRO 2A
Besides she has placed her body in front of her BRAINS
Dang spell check * ( out of her pie hole )
I don’t disagree with her. She is talking about real gun safety, not that crap Everytown spouts. Joe Bob may have grown up with guns, knows how to shoot, clean a gun, and load it without shooting his foot off. Lance may have never held one, but now he is 22, living on his own and feels like he needs one. He goes to the store and buys a Glock or S&W 9mm. He takes it home and loads it and puts a round through the wall into his neighbors apartment. Now, only if he had received some training at the time he bought the gun, this could have been avoided. A short training class should be required when a new gun owner makes his/her first purchase. It should be free and taught by the store making the sale. No infringement, no registration, just some training so you know how to use it. Some states require a training class before new hunters get their hunting license. I don’t see a word about gun registration.
Bring on the hate, but what a bunch of dicks!
“Free and taught by the store making the sale” – you do realize that will NOT be “free”, right? You will be paying for the added training in the price of the gun and the ammo. As for your “hunting” example, the 2A has nothing to do with hunting. “Bring on the hate, but what a bunch of dicks!” – really, that’s not hateful coming from your idiotic mouthpiece? Please go back and take a history/government class and this time listen when the teacher explains the 2A and what “shall not be infringed” means.
Hunter and gun safety is a necessity. I’m 100 percent pro 2nd amendment, but it will help prevent accidental shootings. I bet the parents or relatives that have injured or killed a child wishes they would have done something different.
Tell you what, put your money where your mouth is; you pay for what would amount to be a poll tax on one exercising their Constitutional right.
Tell that half monkey witch to mind her own business
Go be a racist elsewhere. You can argue/disagree using logic, rhetoric, and facts without jumping into the gutter and giving the rest of us 2Aers a bad name.
I think her comments make sense and I own many guns and love them. I really liked Mr. Hovater’s comment above (“Ignorance can be rectified. Stupidity can’t”). Many of the comments on this article so far are simply mean and stupid…shameful.
Very well said DCA, I think her comments were very thoughtful and responsible. While the FAR RIGHT will disagree with both of us I think that as owners of firearms in this country we need to have more training to use them more safely and as a society. If everyone had the training it would be much more difficult to crucify a person for protecting themselves or their family and property. Knowing how to shoot is not the same as knowing WHEN to shoot. God Bless the USA and the NRA.
Well, the NRA is every Fudd’s favorite organization as it likes to cave, so no surprise you’d be a fan of increasing restrictions…and DCA needs to grow a pair if he/she is going to spout Anti rhetoric in a pro-2A forum. It should never be a requirement to have training to exercise one’s civil rights. Getting training is a good idea, but that should be based a voluntary decision of the citizen, not because some authoritarian says so.
All beauty and no brains
They ought mandate effective education, preferrably one that explains pandering. Talk about walking both sides of the line.
Celebs / sports figures need to just stay in their fiction fantasy world that they seem to screw up so easily, most people who have real jobs and live in the real world look at these folk for what they are; entertainment puppets or Pan Troglodytes.
Their thoughts on most matters are of little value or interest. Spouting off like they are some kind of authority on virtually any/every subject makes most want to vomit.
I.E.: Dave Baustita & Robert Deniro & all the others, please stay in your privilegedprotected world(s) the reality of what is real for the rest of us will only have you increasing your therapy sessions.
Not sure what part of “NO ONE GIVES A RATS A**” y’all don’t get?
Yeah Davey it’s all about you, as you prefer it.
When criminal thugs start caring about people and quit terrorizing society, maybe just maybe chimps like you will have an audience.
Until then shut the hell up, stay in your fantasy bubble(s) and live your life of privilege leaving the reality of life to us adults.
Dav /Bob y’all both need to get something done about those TBI’s, too many to the melon I suspect.
Oh FYI………Pan Troglodytes I’ll save you the effort of looking it up: it’s chimpanzees
Who is this bimbo?
Does anyone really care what the winning poodle at the dog show thinks about guns, food, finance, or politics?
Good luck leaving a comment that is anyway critical of her message.
If she is advocating that all able bodied American citizens need a gun and must train with it. I am on board. Just like Obamacare, if you don’t want to own and train with a gun, you must pay a fine. That money will be used to train gun owners. Problem solved.
they have us locked out
Well we all know they are there for Beauty & not brains. I wonder how many gang bangers are willing to pay for SAFETY TRAINING ? Yeah another forced tax. It’s up to you as a gun owner to get the knowledge you need. WTF happened to SELF RESPONSIBILITY ?
Agree! The 2A says zero about training requirements and permits. The training needs to take place in our public education history/government classes where every student needs to understand the 2A states “shall not be infringed” and what that looks like in the real world. It means a permit is NOT required, NOR is training.
I am pretty sure criminals will be at the head of the line for training. I think your tiara is to tight cutting off the blood flow to your brain.
With a proper and knowledgeable mentor, this young lady could become an asset. It’s apparent that she has received some negative ‘education’, but she doesn’t appear to be rabidly illogical like most of her generation. She just needs proper guidance. Ignorance can be rectified. Stupidity can’t.
so she grew up in a household where she could learn firearms freely but thinks the rest of us should have to take safety courses?
The royalty mindset – “okay for me but not for thee”. We need to fix our public education system, in a big way. I can see we even have a few on this forum who do not understand what “shall not be infringed means”. When will they realize criminals do not follow or care about new gun laws? Adding more gun laws (aka gun control) only infringes on law-abiding citizen’s 2A right. I actually think some on here are trolls from Every Town for Gun Safety – the Bloomberg financed gun control group. The trolls are very easy to point out because they start their reasoning with “I’m 100% pro 2A” or “I love my guns” and then there is a “but” to follow.
I don’t trust her. I dont trust her motives, her ideas, and her logic.
No right should ever taxed or regulated or have requirements attached in order excercise that right.
Especially gun rights. The constitution must not be regulated. Not any part of it.
When a person like her starts up about gun registration and training requirements its clear they lack all understanding of the Second Amendment.
The royalty mindset – “okay for me but not for thee”. We need to fix our public education system, in a big way.