RICHMOND: In a wooded area outside Virginia's state capital Richmond, the sounds of gunshots resonate. Collin is learning how to use a firearm.
The semi-automatic weapon in the 38-year-old's hand is the first he has ever owned.
He is one of many left-leaning Americans who are embracing guns because of their fears about President Donald Trump's administration -- upending conventional wisdom about who owns firearms in the United States.
"I feel a lot more threatened by my government than the citizens around me," said Collin, who asked to be only identified by his first name for privacy concerns.
He said the deaths in Minneapolis of Renee Good and Alex Pretti -- both fatally shot by federal agents amid a sweeping immigration crackdown in the northern city -- had tipped the scales for him.
"We have government-empowered, essentially a private army, running around, assaulting and shooting people. That scares me a lot more than the fact that, yes, there is some person-to-person crime too," he told AFP.
The gun debate in the United States is fraught -- and very political.
Gun rights advocates -- who generally lean to the right -- frame the issue as one about personal freedom, as the US Constitution guarantees the right to bear arms.
Liberals tend to emphasize more strict gun controls in a country plagued by mass shootings.
But several high-profile Democrats, including former lawmaker Gabby Giffords -- who nearly died when a gunman tried to assassinate her -- and former vice president Kamala Harris have proudly said they are gun owners.
After buying a weapon, Collin and his wife Danni signed up for a class given by certified handgun instructor Clara Elliott, who says her business "doubled" after Trump was elected to serve a second term in the White House in November 2024.
Since that time, her classes -- which are tailored to women, minorities and the LGBTQ community but open to everyone -- have largely been sold out.
"It's been incredibly busy," said Elliott, who sports a large tattoo on the inner side of her arm of Snow White...carrying a sub-machine gun.
'Be prepared'
About a dozen people are taking Elliott's class, which first goes over the fundamentals of gun shooting and safety before progressing to the actual practice range.
Most of the students have never even touched a firearm before.
Many say they became interested in the class because of the current political climate in America -- including immigration raids, the dismantling of DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) policies and the mounting polarization of society as a whole.
"There's a lot of things happening in the US that have been alarming," said 28-year-old Cassandra who, like everyone in the class, declined to share her last name. "So it seemed good to be aware and to be prepared."
Akemi, a 30-year-old Latina, said she feared "right-wing violence" and did not have faith that the police would protect her.
"As much as I can avoid interaction with the police, the better it is," said Akemi, who wore protective headphones as her classmates fired at targets drawn in the form of ice cubes -- a wink at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
'The whole spectrum'
Elliott is not alone in seeing more business since the deadly shootings in Minneapolis.
The Liberal Gun Club -- a national organization which says its mission is to "provide a voice for gun-owning liberals and moderates" -- says it registered 3,000 new requests for firearms training in the first two months of 2026, more than in all of 2025.
Executive director Ed Gardner says such spikes are not rare after major political events or shocking acts of violence such as mass shootings.
But unlike in the past, when public interest came mainly from women and minorities, today's new members "cross the whole spectrum" -- young and old, rural and urban.
For David Yamane, a professor of sociology at Wake Forest University in North Carolina, the shift comes in what is motivating people to buy guns.
"There is a specific concern about a kind of tyrannical, authoritarian government, possibly depriving people of their rights, or inspiring followers to deprive people of their rights," he said.