“We were on welfare, and my mom thought you needed the government to survive. 'Don't try to make it on your own, because it won't be enough. The kids won't be fed:' My mom believed that lie. So I've lived with a poverty mentality. But after I got my first job, at a local McDonald's, and I got my first check, I felt such a sense of pride.”

American politician, businesswoman, and gun rights activist, born 1986

Lauren Boebert is an American politician, businesswoman, and gun rights activist. Born in 1986, she has served in the U.S. House of Representatives, first for Colorado’s 3rd congressional district from 2021 to 2025 and then for the 4th congressional district beginning in 2025. She became known nationally through her outspoken conservative politics and her support for gun rights. From 2013 to 2022, she owned Shooters Grill in Rifle, Colorado, a restaurant where staff were encouraged to carry firearms openly.