Kaitlyn Cedoz – Interview Transcript – 4.6.13

(The following is a transcription of the interview in its entirety. The interview was organized, conducted and recorded by Zach Nelson while speaking to Kaitlyn Cedoz on 4.6.2013)

Bio:

Name: Kaitlyn Cedoz

Age: 19

Hometown: Toledo, Ohio

Occupation: Undergraduate student at Ohio University

Question 1 – What is your personal connection with firearms?

Kaitlyn Cedoz: “My personal connection with firearms is that I think it’s a huge equalizer. So I am really into handgun competitions. So you go out there with the boys and it doesn’t matter if they’re 6’ 7” - you are equal, you have nothing against you, you are equally just as skilled if you work hard at it. No matter what: doesn’t matter the size, how high they can jump, or anything; it’s an equal platform for everyone. ”

            Q - What was your start? How did you get Involved?

Kaitlyn Cedoz: “While growing up my dad and my brothers would hunt, but I had always been separate and I never worried about it. And then I got to Ohio University, and for the most part the campus has very different views on stuff. So I got here and some random kid in a cowboy hat [Wes Gilkey] asked me to join this club. So I joined [Ohio University’s] 2^nd Amendment Club and started shooting and I fell in love with it immediately. I love the confidence it gave you, because you instantly have this power, you feel so safe and so protected once you get to fully use and understand and be safe with a firearm.”

Question 2 – Why do you choose to have Firearms?

Kaitlyn Cedoz: “I choose to have firearms mostly for protection. You always feel safe with it ‘cause I have used them many times, so I am not scared of them at all and I understand the power that they have. So they keep you safe if you know how to use them and use them properly and you are safe with them, then you are definitely protected by using them.”

Question 3 - What makes you most proud as a firearms owner?

Kaitlyn Cedoz: “It’s just the small group of people. You get to know them and everyone is so willing to help everybody, and you just really get into this little clique with everyone and you just feel so comfortable. There is always room for improvement so you never get bored with it and there is always somewhere to go with and become more and more comfortable with them.”

Question 4 – What is the hardest part about being a firearms owner for you personally?

Kaitlyn Cedoz: “Just the lack of education forums for the general public. People tend to fear the unknown, and I feel that firearms for the most part are very unknown to people, so they are just scared naturally. If there is one thing I can change about it, it would be the lack of exposure that everybody has. Because once you get out there and you shoot it and you understand it and you are the master of it and you don’t let it master you, it’s completely safe and completely comfortable.”

Question 5 – What do you do as an individual to make sure you are being a responsible gun owner?

Kaitlyn Cedoz: “I would say a huge thing with being safe with firearms is you have to be safe with them. You have to realize that it’s a tool and you are the one with the power with it. And that it’s just there to assist you if you need assistance or you need to be protected; and just keep them away from people who aren’t exposed to them, who don’t have the knowledge for them. You know how to master it, and if you know how, make sure you keep going out there and shooting and keep understanding and learning as you go.”

Question 6 - What do you wish was different about being a firearms owner? Looking towards the future what would you change?

Kaitlyn Cedoz: “If there is one thing I could change it’s definitely if people haven’t shot, then people aren’t exposed to them, so they tend to be offended or upset with them. So if you just take people out there and get them to use them and experience what it is like to shoot a firearm and the purpose they’re there and to educate people towards it, that would definitely be a great direction for firearms and that’s the only thing I would change.”

            Q – As we have been sitting here talking about this is there anything else you would like to add about your personal connection with firearms?

Kaitlyn Cedoz: “I think firearms are excellent for women because anyone who goes out there, you might feel uncomfortable in certain situations and this keeps you safe. If you are living alone, I mean you hear so many horror stories of, like, girls in a house together. So it keeps everyone safe if you know how to use it properly. And that’s [the] main thing, you have to shoot constantly and frequently so you know what you are doing and you don’t make mistakes and you are trained properly.”