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Turkey is about to find out if more people are safe when armed

Many members of Turkey's Justice and Development Party are buying and carrying weapons without knowing how to use them.
A security stand guard while supporters wawe Turkish national and AKP party flags during a mass campaign rally of ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) on October 25, 2015 at Yenikapi in Istanbul, a week ahead of the country's general elections on November 1.  AFP PHOTO/OZAN KOSE        (Photo credit should read OZAN KOSE/AFP/Getty Images)

Last year, a close friend advised me to stop trying to make a meager living by writing articles. Instead, this friend said, I should take up firearms training for all the senior Turkish bureaucrats who have been rushing to buy guns. The problem, he said, was that these new gun owners had no idea how to use their weapons. My friend said that's why he began offering private training on how to care for, load, conceal and carry guns. The last phase of training is target practice at a range.

The same friend called me again recently, saying, “The demand is through the roof. They are now issuing carry permits to all AKP [Justice and Development Party] members, and journalists and celebrities. We are short on instructors. We pay $200 an hour — join us.”

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