Kim Rhode sees the news on television or social media. Another mass shooting, in Aurora, San Bernardino, Newtown, Orlando, Dallas, Baton Rouge.For the two-time Olympic gold medalist shotgun shooter, what comes next has become routine.I just wait for my phone to ring, Rhode said. I know the questions are coming.Shooting is one of the most divisive sports in the Olympic program.Guns, always a hot-button issue, have been thrust even further to the forefront of public debate with the spate of mass killings in recent years.Sport shooters are staunch supporters of the Second Amendment, given their chosen event. Because they are public figures, more so during Olympic years, they have become targets for anti-gun groups.Mass shootings exacerbate the rift over gun control and often put Olympic shooters in the crosshairs of hate.Its unfortunate that we get lumped in with that, said Rhode, who is vying to become the first American athlete to win medals in a sixth straight Games at next months Rio Olympics. There has to be some kind of reality.When Rhode won her second career gold, in skeet at the 2012 London Games, one of the first questions she was asked by media was about the theater shooting at Aurora, Colorado, which occurred a few days earlier and left 12 dead.Sometimes it goes beyond inquiries.Several shooters have received death threats, requiring extra security in London.Trap shooter Corey Cogdell-Unrein needed extra protection after someone posted hunting videos on her Facebook page without her knowledge.A two-time Olympian, she grew up in Alaska, where the family hunted for its food, and still hunts. Despite saying she didnt agree with the content of the videos, Cogdell-Unrein received numerous death threats before the Olympics.After the London Games, where she won bronze, thousands of people signed a petition to strip her of the medal.Unfortunately, there were people who decided to hone in on me as a public figure at the time and they wanted to push their agenda of trying to stop animal cruelty and hunting, said Cogdell-Unrein, who is headed to Rio. Hopefully that will not happen again. If it does, I will be better prepared for it this time. I definitely dont support animal cruelty and a lot of the things they were saying I was a part of.As gun laws become stricter, the ability to obtain guns and ammunition could become much tougher for Olympic shooters.In California, where Rhode lives, Gov. Jerry Brown recently signed a law requiring background checks for anyone purchasing ammunition, among other restrictions. Rhode burns through up to 1,000 shotgun shells a day in training and is concerned how the new laws will affect her ability to properly prepare.Im not sure how thats going to work out, how thats going to affect me, what thats going to entail, she said. It could make things much more difficult for me to train.Travel is another issue for Olympic shooters.Shooters and their liaisons must keep up on gun laws, not only for each of the 50 states, but any country they may travel to or through for competitions. For air gun shooters, that sometimes means sending their air canisters to their destination ahead of time.Even knowing the regulations doesnt always make things go smoothly.Rhode once had a flight from San Marino delayed for hours after a competition because security officials were concerned she had multiple shotguns and ammunition in her luggage.Jay Shi, an air gun and pistol shooter headed to his first Olympics, had to wait nearly four hours to get cleared into China for a competition as security hand counted every bullet. The process was repeated when he left.Shi had to stand by another time as a security person took out his pistol to examine it because of the strange-looking handle used on competition guns.The rule is not to touch the gun, but they took it out and were looking at it, Shi said. I was freaking because now theyre waving a gun all around.The issues Olympic shooters face wont subside anytime soon.The debate over gun control is a divisive chasm that seems to grow deeper with each mass shooting.Athletes who use guns for their sport will likely always be part of that debate -- whether they want to be or not. Nike Air Max 97 Nere Baffo Rosso . Howard Ganz, an MLB lawyer, said in a letter to U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos that Rodriguezs claims do not come "remotely close" to what is needed to overturn an arbitration decision in federal court. Nike Air Max 97 Silver Offerta . With the short-handed Warriors needing help from someone -- anyone -- to stop a three-game skid, ONeal returned from right knee and groin injuries that had sidelined him for four games and put up season highs with 18 points and eight rebounds. 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Williams scored 11 points in 10 minutes, Alan Anderson scored 17 points, and the Brooklyn Nets finished the exhibition season with a 108-87 win over the Miami Heat on Friday night.James Hahn fired a bogey-free 65 to move one clear of Rickie Fowler and Danny Lee after the second round of the Phoenix Open. Latest leaderboard Phoenix Open Hahn fired six birdies during a flawless round in front of a record-breaking crowd at TPC Scottsdale, to move one-shot clear of Danny Lee and world No 4 Rickie Fowler.Beginning on the back nine, Hahn chipped in from the rough at the 10th and holed a 30-footer at the 13th before posting a third birdie of the round at the par-five 15th. After a run of pars around the turn, Hahn nudged in close-range gains at the second and third before taking the outright advantage with a seven-foot putt at the sixth. Hahn is a popular figure at TPC Scottsdale Im having fun out there, Hahn said. Im making a lot of putts, hitting a lot of fairways, giving myself many opportunities to make birdie.I only live about 10 minutes away from here and Im looking forward to a good weekend.A run of four birdies in a five-hole stretch along the back nine helped Lee get to nine under alongsiide overnight joint-leader Fowler, who is chasing a second win of the year after last months victory in Abu Dhabi.dddddddddddd Fowler was impressed with his new-found form in his putting Fellow first-round leaders Hideki Matsuyama and Shane Lowry slipped back to tied third after they both struck 70, with the Irishman bouncing back from finding the water and running up a double-bogey at the 17th to pick up a shot at the last.Jack Maguire, in his first professional start on the US PGA Tour, aced the 12th hole with a seven-iron from 206 yards, before Chad Campbell aced the 194-yard seventh soon after with a six-iron. Englands Ian Poulter and two-time major champions Padraig Harrington are both certain to miss the cut at four over, although play was suspended due to bad light with several players still yet to complete their rounds. Watch the Phoenix Open throughout the weekend live on Sky Sports 4 - your home of golf. Live coverage gets underway on Saturday from 6pm. Also See: Phoenix Open leaderboard WATCH: Golfs loudest hole? First round highlights Golf live on Sky Sports 4 ' ' '
