This is a prove-it moment for gun rights activists
Gun rights activists have argued for years that carrying a gun in public is a sacrosanct right protected by the Second Amendment.
But now, President Donald Trump’s administration, one that received considerable support from gun rights organizations, appears to be questioning that right by arguing that federal agents were justified in shooting Alex Pretti, the man killed in Minneapolis this weekend, because he was carrying a firearm.
“I don’t know of any peaceful protester that shows up with a gun and ammunition rather than a sign,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem said Saturday.
"He brought a gun. He brought a gun,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday. “I’ve been to a protest. Guess what? I didn’t bring a gun, I brought a billboard.”
This rhetoric is wholly at odds with what Republicans, including Noem, have said about gun ownership.
“The Second Amendment is about deterrence. It is about ensuring the government respects the rights and liberty of citizens,” Noem said during a speech to the National Rifle Association in 2023. “Why do the liberals and Joe Biden want our guns? Because it will make it easier for them to infringe on all our other rights.”
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They strapped up while standing on line for an espresso or a loaf of bread, because they feared "others."
