Terry Cornell, an Evergreen Park resident, said he would often spend his weekends having doughnuts and coffee at Kee Firearms and Training with about 100 people from across Chicago, learning about gun safety at the store’s free concealed carry classes.

About 400 people attended the classes monthly, which required a $30 range fee per class, according to owner Jeffery Regnier.

Many customers returned for additional training or to listen in, which created a community space where people, especially those who couldn’t afford other training classes and even young teenagers, could learn more about gun safety and chat, Cornell said.

“So the guys got to eat, and they got to learn, and I’ll tell you they were laughing and joking in the back of the room, and I was sitting back and I was like that’

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