Several niche, left-leaning gun advocacy groups said that since the killing of Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis, they can hardly keep up with the surging demand for firearms training.
With Donald Trump sending armed federal agents into communities around the country, even more once gun-shy liberals and leftists are considering getting armed.
And while Americans tend to think of gun owners as leaning more Republican and male, already more women, gay people and people of color have taken up arms in recent years, particularly after 2020.
No but going to a protest with a slung rifle absolutely does. In a funny way the talking heads are right about the gun Pretti brought with him. They’re right about the wrong thing, but a concealed sidearm presents no message inherently by being concealed. CCW is for polite people in polite society. What we have now requires the same tactics the Panthers used, visible intimidation. A low ready or slung rifle is just as legal to carry as a pistol, but if there are 20 or 30 protesters carrying, ICE might consider not having a gun battle in the streets. And history shows that they tend to back down.