Five pro-gun advocates braved the chilly temperatures outside the Douglas County Courthouse. Jessica Hamilton reports.

Their main message they want to get across is that stricter gun laws will not reduce gun related violence. Superior’s Kevin Wehmeyer is a member of the Army National Guard. He says guns shouldn’t be treated as weapons.

“A weapon is just a tool. Anybody can grab anything and attack somebody. Just because they use a gun, they are attacking the gun.”

Allan Kehr of Duluth says history shows that governments can become corrupt using the colonies and used England as an example. He says that is the main reason for the 2nd amendment rights, not hunting with assault rifles.

“Clearly the 2nd amendment is about, when all is said and done, that governments can be tyrannical, and they can turn against their own people. And when they do that, people have to have a way to defend themselves from that. So the 2nd amendment, so it’s not about hunting, it’s about defending yourself from, well lots of things, foreign invasion but primarily even believe it or not, yes your own government if it should come to that.”

Wehmeyer thinks President Obama wanting stricter background checks when buying guns isn’t fair to most gun owners who obtain their firearms legally. He says criminals don’t always follow the processe.

“Well I just feel that, you know the way the government is treating it, their treating as a weapon, not as a tool for safety. Their not addressing the other more important issues that law abiding citizens aren’t the ones out their committing the crimes it’s the criminals.

This rally took place the day after President Obama announced executive orders on gun control in the wake of the killing of 20 grade school children and six teachers in Newtown by a man packing an assault rifle..

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