Condi Rice: "The Second Amendment is as important as the First Amendment."

US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice has come out swinging in favor of the right to own guns, and against gun registration. Barry Schweid, AP Diplomatic Writer has the story :

In an interview on CNN's "Larry King Live," Rice said she came to that view from personal experience. She said her father, a black minister, and his friends armed themselves to defended the black community in Birmingham, Ala., against the White Knight Riders in 1962 and 1963. She said if local authorities had had lists of registered weapons, she did not think her father and other blacks would have been able to defend themselves...

Rice said the Founding Fathers understood "there might be circumstances that people like my father experienced in Birmingham, Ala., when, in fact, the police weren't going to protect you."

She understands.

Thanks to Alphecca for the link, Instapundit for the lead.