Despite my last post, the news from New York isn’t all bad. Though gun control activists and their political allies continue to make life as difficult as possible for New Yorkers trying to exercise their right to keep and bear arms, there are plenty of folks who are willing to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous aggression by the anti-gun crowd. 

This past weekend, for instance, a pistol permit training class in Rochester, New York drew a large crowd of residents who were willing to sacrifice an entire weekend to satisfy the demands of the state. 

“Now, New York State requires that you take a mandated 16-hour classroom training and two hours on the range, and that’s for anybody that wants to apply for a pistol permit,” said President of the Rochester African American Firearms Association Paul Adell, Jr. 

“We’re holding this event solely because we think that this new law that requires this type of training can sometimes disproportionately affect people who may not have the financial capabilities of taking some of the more expensive classes or may have the time constraints that they can’t take classes that involve multiple sessions. So, we were able to make this extremely affordable and we were able to condense it down into one weekend and give all of the things that the state requires.”

In addition to offering the class, organizers also addressed gun safety and de-escalation, among other topics.

I can’t link directly to the pictures of the event here, but the images captured by WHAM-TV show a crowd in attendance at the Kodak Center in Rochester. Tyler Mirra, general manager of the Firing Pin, which partnered with the RAAFA to put on the training event, told Rochester First that hundreds of people pre-registered for the class, and based on the photos displayed by local media, it looks like the vast majority showed up on Saturday for the first part of the two-day training. 

It’s ridiculous that New York demands an 18-hour training course (complete with two hours of live-fire training) before someone can exercise their fundamental right to bear arms, but for the time being that unreasonable infringement is likely to remain in place, and it’s fantastic to see the Rochester African American Firearms Association and their partners step up to ensure that the training is as accessible (and affordable) as possible. 

The RAAFA has also done a great job of keeping the local media outlets apprised of their activity, which in turn helps shine a spotlight on the growing number of lawful gun owners in the Rochester area. Along with their recent training event, the group’s recent “Stop the Bleed” class previously garnered a substantial amount of positive media attention; something not often seen in New York media, even outside the Big Apple. 

Between Gov. Hochul and the Democrats in complete control of the New York legislature, there are a lot of powerful political forces arrayed against groups like the RAAFA and individuals interested in exercising their right to keep and bear arms. The fact that this group is seeing such significant interest despite all of the barriers erected by the state is a clear indication that, no matter how much the prohibitionists try to impose and infringe on our 2A rights, they’re not going away anytime soon.