I did not grow up around guns, but 10 years ago, I started attending firearms training classes. The classes I attended trained students to believe that their lives are in constant danger. Most of all, I immersed myself in firearms schools in Texas, where I live, that cater to people who wish to learn how to use guns for self-defense. Some of these instructors’ students have gone on to open training programs of their own. While American gun culture has diversified in recent years, the overwhelming majority of firearms instructors — in Texas it’s 75 percent — are white men.

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