Five Black Lives Matter activists were shot by white supremacists in Minneapolis on Nov. 23. The unarmed activists were exercising their First Amendment right to free speech and assembly in a public place. This attack is an act of terrorism that must be condemned and prosecuted.

But that's not enough. Governor Dayton, Speaker Daudt and Senate Majority Leader Bakk must stop enabling political intimidation by armed extremists at the Capitol, stop allowing dangerous people to get permits to carry guns, and stop allowing the open carry of firearms in Minnesota.

Here is our statement made this morning:

MINNEAPOLIS, MN -- The shooting last night of several Black Lives Matter protesters by armed white supremacists is an act of political terrorism and must be prosecuted to the full extent of the law, Protect Minnesota spokesperson Heather Martens stated.

"This act is sickening. It is an attack on the very fiber of our democracy," Martens said. "It is also a predictable outcome of the decades-long radicalization of the so-called 'gun-rights' movement. Since before the passage of laws intended to normalize the carrying of loaded guns in public (in Minnesota, CCW passed in 2003), there has been a constant subtext of racial hatred in the political initiatives of the 'gun rights' movement."

"In 2003, one of the star testifiers for the CCW law was a regular poster on white supremacist websites. The opposition to CCW laws among communities of color was strong all over the nation, and for good reason. Rev. Clementa Pinckney, who had voted against CCW in the South Carolina legislature, was murdered in a mass killing at his church this year, by a white supremacist.

"As part of the 2003 law, it became legal for CCW permit holders to carry loaded guns, openly or concealed, at the Capitol. Those who actually carry guns at the capitol are overwhelmingly white men. They have used their armed state to intimidate anyone who disagrees with them, insisting on accosting and harassing people while their guns are openly displayed, and heckling the testimony of those with whom they disagree. This makes a mockery of our political process.

"Too often we hear that the CCW permit holders are 'not the ones we need to be concerned about.' This is patently false. Nationwide since May 2007, at least 763 people have been killed by CCW permit holders. They have committed 29 mass shootings, 48 murder-suicides and 17 murders of law enforcement professionals. In Minnesota, people with multiple DWIs and convictions for certain violent misdemeanors cannot be denied CCW permits.

"Meanwhile, no CCW holder has stopped a terrorist. In fact, the normalization of the carrying of loaded guns eliminates one way in which law enforcement has apprehended terrorists. Timothy McVeigh, the Oklahoma City bomber with links to white supremacists, was detained by police after the bombing because he was carrying a loaded weapon, before this was legal in the state where he was arrested. During his detention, police were able to identify him as the bombing suspect.

"Stand Your Ground" bills, which have passed in many states but which we have stopped in Minnesota, are also racist in concept and in reality. 'Stand Your Ground' allows a person to shoot to kill anyone they consider 'threatening.' This is a huge departure from hundreds of years of common law that places top priority on every person's right to stay alive. Current law allows people to use deadly force in situations where self-defense is actually required. But under 'Stand Your Ground' or

'Shoot First' laws, the right to stay alive becomes the right to kill. Trayvon Martin's family, and many other people of color, have paid heavily for others' newfound right to kill.

"My message to responsible gun owners is this -- if you have stood on the sidelines or even supported the so-called 'gun-rights' movement, because you agree with some of what they say, please be aware of whom you are empowering. Do you want a society where armed intimidation is the norm, and white supremacists are empowered to commit murder? I don't.

"The firearms industry likes to say an armed society is a polite society. In truth, an armed society is a constantly traumatized, constantly silenced society. In such a society, extremists gain power.