Fargo firearms instructor weighs in on gun debate

FARGO, N.D. (KVRR) — With more mass shootings across the country since Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, people wonder when will the chaos end?

More cities across the country are experiencing the tragedy of gun violence.

It has even affected people in Fargo where 24-year-old Malik Gill, of Moorhead, was convicted of second degree assault with a dangerous weapon in Clay County in 2020 and was prohibited from owning a gun. He was still able to get one and shot his fiancée, Lucia Garcia, and their seven-month-old boy, Dominique, at Plaza Azteca last month.

Garcia died last week.

“We need to ban assault weapons and high capacity magazines. If we can’t ban assault weapons, then we should raise the age to purchase them from 18 to 21,” says U.S. President Joe Biden.

People from both sides of the debate wonder how raising the minimum age could affect their futures.

Craig Roe, a licensed Concealed Weapons Instructor teaches a class on where people can carry their weapon and other state laws. The process involves taking a written test and hours of training at a shooting range.

He adds if 18-year-olds aren’t allowed to buy guns, they shouldn’t be allowed to do other activities.

“They wanna raise the age to 21 to buy a firearm. At the same time, they should, because people aren’t developed enough in their brain to be able to handle a firearm, which means they should raise the voting age back to 21 because you’re not smart enough to figure out how to vote. And, you should never be allowed in the military until you’re 21, either,” Roe says.

With a federal firearms license, Roe runs background checks where he says one flaw involves the lack of information shared by law enforcement.

“One of the main problems with background checks is the other agencies in the government don’t share a lot of that information or they’re not getting information from other agencies to put in the background check system,” says Roe.

“Stronger background checks are something the vast majority of Americans, including the majority of gun owners agree on,” says President Biden.

Some believe it might be something we have to deal with in the future.

“Shootings are obviously bad. We don’t need to have those. I don’t know if it’s gonna get any better. I think there are a lot of things going on in the country right now that are allowing criminals to run free a little bit too much,” said Roe.

Roe says he doesn’t think President Biden’s suggestions about raising the minimum age to buy a firearm are easily enforceable because someone under 21-years-old can get a firearm through another source.