15-Year-Old Girl Who Gave Viral Pro-Gun Testimony Speaks Out: 'Takes Away Our Own Sense of Security and Defense

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The 15-year-old girl whose eloquent three-minute pro-gun testimony before Maryland lawmakers went viral told Fox News she spoke out because just-passed gun control legislation threatens her future.

Her name is Sarah Merkle, and not much was known about her when video of her testimony exploded online, garnering more than 2 million views in less than two weeks.

"By signing this legislation, you are not signing away gun violence but instead liberating American citizens of our constitutional rights," Merkle said. "You are not eliminating guns from society but instead limiting our ability to protect our lives, liberty and pursuits of happiness."

Merkle told Fox News on Friday that she's been an avid shooter since she was 8 years old and is the secretary of the 530-member Maryland Rifle Club.

"Everybody's really upset about this, it takes away our own sense of security and defense against any attackers that we may have, and it won't let me shoot anymore," she told Fox.

Merkle said she's worried the new law will harm her future, since she was hoping to get a shooting scholarship to go to college. She wants to study law at Harvard.

"If I can't shoot anymore then I won't be able to keep up my skill and won't be eligible for any of the scholarships," she said.

A main effect of the legislation, she said, is that if any guns are taken out of state -- even for competition, like when she shoots with the Maryland State Rifle Team -- they can't be brought back.

"I hope legislators somewhere are listening and they hear this and they realize this gun control legislation really isn't going to get us anywhere and they can stop it," she said.

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​Related:

• Video of 15-Year-Old Girl Lecturing Maryland Lawmakers on Gun Control Goes Viral