In what can only be defined as a bizarre shift in attitude about guns, the Second Amendment and lawful concealed carry, the political left is taking a dramatically different look at the right to keep and bear arms, ignited by the deadly shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis and something the late Charlie Kirk wrote nearly eight years ago.
An editorialist might say the earth has shifted on its axis.
Newsweek is reporting that Kirk’s March 4, 2018 post on X—which read, “The 2nd amendment is not for hunting, it is not for self-protection. It is there to ensure that free people can defend themselves if god forbid government became tyrannical and turned against its citizens.”—suddenly makes sense to anti-ICE/anti-Trump administration protesters, courtesy of a group calling itself “Homeland Dems.”
Interesting. https://t.co/qQIbKUCyQg
— Homeland Dems (@HomelandDems) January 24, 2026
Writing at Newsweek, Senior Life and Trends Reporter Alice Gibbs explains, “The renewed attention to Kirk’s statement comes as the Pretti case has become a flashpoint in the national gun debate, particularly around claims that firearms are necessary to resist government overreach.”
Adding to the furor, the New York Times has posted an analysis of the Pretti shooting, dissecting various videos from different angles, which appears to reach the same conclusions as one produced by Braden Langley of Langley Outdoors Academy, and reported by Ammoland’s Dean Weingarten. The Times video includes remarks by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Border Patrol Chief Greg Bovino asserted Pretti had “brandished” a weapon, while available videos of the event clearly show Pretti did not have a gun in his hand.
What might have seemed incredible only days before the Minneapolis shooting now is raising eyebrows, and hints of hypocrisy, especially when the National Review quotes former President Bill Clinton, who wrote, “Over the course of a lifetime, we face only a few moments where the decisions we make and the actions we take will shape our history for years to come. This is one of them…It is up to all of us who believe in the promise of American democracy to stand up, speak out, and show that our nation still belongs to We the People.”
Likewise, Giffords—the gun prohibition lobbying group second only to Everytown for Gun Safety—also weighed in, observing that Pretti, who was armed with a Sig semi-auto and a couple of spare magazines, was “a lawful gun owner who was protesting in his community.”
National Review also quotes a statement from the Brady campaign, describing Pretti as “a law-abiding gun owner with a concealed carry permit.”
For years, both lobbying groups have portrayed legally-armed citizens as dangerous for having “hidden handguns.” They have consistently lobbied against concealed carry, reciprocity and Constitutional carry. But now suddenly, because a man who had suffered a broken rib in a confrontation with federal agents a week before his fatal encounter, according to CNN, has died, these gun control groups are defending Pretti’s carrying of a concealed handgun.
Lost in all of this were early reports Mr. Pretti allegedly did not have the required photo ID or his carry permit to be packing legally under Minnesota statute. If that is the case, the obvious question would be “Why, not?”
In its article bylined by the National Review editors, the blistering question is asked, “At what point, one must ask, did they all turn into Wayne LaPierre?”
Amid this controversy, something else was recently added to the mix, and it is alarming.
Fox News recently reported on what it calls “assassination culture,” which it defines as a “public tolerance of politically motivated violence.” Even more worrisome, Newsweek said a new national survey by the Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI) revealed this phenomenon is increasing “especially among women.”
According to the Fox report, NCRI has been studying this “assassination culture” since before the slaying of Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, in front of a huge crowd at a Utah university last summer.
Recent history includes two attempted assassinations of Donald Trump on the campaign trail in 2024, and the slaying of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
The introduction of the NCRI report puts it bluntly: “Following the July 13, 2024 attempted assassination of President Trump, tolerance – and even advocacy – for political violence appears to have surged, especially among politically left-leaning segments of the population.”
A few lines later, the introduction notes, “The reports found widespread justification for lethal violence – including assassination – among younger, highly online, and ideologically left-aligned users.”
Recall how last year Everytown launched its “TrainSMART” firearms safety training program? One veteran gun owner who took the course suggested it was a waste of time and money, but it does indicate those on the left are beginning to realize guns aren’t going away, and that people have a right protected by the constitution to carry firearms for any number of reasons, including self-defense.
That Pretti showed up at a demonstration packing a sidearm and died as a result has put an uncomfortable spotlight on this right, which the gun ban bunch has been trying to outlaw for decades. Perhaps now the gun prohibitionists may understand—even if for the wrong reasons—why tens of millions of gun owners and organizations such as NRA, Gun Owners of America, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, Second Amendment Foundation have fought so hard to keep that from happening.
The proverbial shoe is now on the other foot. We will see how well it fits, and whether it causes blisters.
Murders Down, Gun Ownership Thrives; Can Antis Talk Around This?
About Dave Workman
Dave Workman is a senior editor at TheGunMag.com and Liberty Park Press, author of multiple books on the Right to Keep & Bear Arms, and formerly an NRA-certified firearms instructor.
No incorrect They do not support the second amendment they only support what they want using any means possible. The do not support free speech as we have witness to there yelling screaming over those trying to have a conversation about the second amendment. The do not support the many laws in place or our constitution. The left disagrees openly with Gods creation of a man and woman. The fact is a left wing supreme court justice can not define this simple question either. Along with most of the democratic party as a whole. The law only means something when… Read more »