Fundamental rights are often taken for granted, especially during times of peace and prosperity when it appears that this state of being will last forever.
Recent unrest in Minnesota was spawned by the federal government carrying out immigration actions and the opposition of many citizens. At least two deaths at the hands of agents increased tensions on both sides of the issue.
Now comes a report from NBC News chronicling the resulting explosion in Minnesota citizens seeking firearm instruction.
Firearm classes are bursting at the seams in Minnesota as interest surges
Eric Pakieser is a law enforcement veteran and a Minneapolis weapons instructor. He told NBC that interest in his services soared in recent days with the social unrest.
“As we were going into last week, I had only six people signed up,” Pakieser noted. “I ended up having 25 people in the class on that Sunday. It essentially tripled in size. What I am seeing consistently is people who are historically not interested in guns—or even opposed to gun ownership—seeking that out now because they’re looking out the window and seeing what’s going on and they’re saying this is no longer theoretical.”
2A advocates expressed alarm over the government’s response to the recent ICE shooting
NBC spoke with David Taylor, CEO of the Stock & Barrel Gun Club. He observed that class sizes are “usually in the hundreds,” but signups quadrupled in recent days.
Another instructor who insisted on remaining anonymous described the situation in the Twin Cities as precarious. “In any other time, I would be very willing to help you out. Right now, it’s just too dicey.”
Second Amendment advocates voiced strong concerns over government rhetoric after the shooting of Alex Pretti, 37, by immigration officers. He was legally armed, but some officials used that fact to justify his death, a fact quickly refuted by gun rights advocates.
Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus Chairman Bryan Strawser called that reasoning “factually inaccurate.” He added that it is “not illegal to bring a loaded gun to a protest. It happens all the time.”
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