The state canceled a class on how to clean your AR guns after a handful of people complained to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife that it was inappropriate in light of the mass shooting in Lewiston, according to a department spokesman.
The AR models of guns are gaining popularity among hunters, but the category includes the gun that 40-year-old Robert Card II used to kill 18 people and injure 13 others in the October mass shooting in Lewiston.
The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife has held classes for at least three years on how to maintain and safely use different types of guns used in hunting, said Mark Latti, the department’s communications director, on Wednesday.
He cited a state law that mandates the department to offer education on guns and gun safety.
The department heard from about a dozen of the more than 400,000 people who received the email notification of the gun classes on Thursday, which also included handgun and shotgun classes.
Although a few people were upset that the department offered the class, several called to complain that the class was canceled, Latti said.
The department canceled the class on Friday.
