The great comedian Dave Chappelle once said, "The First Amendment is first for a reason. Second Amendment is just in case the first one doesn't work out."

There's nothing funny about what's happening in Minneapolis right now, where on Jan. 24, a Border Patrol officer shot and killed Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen and registered Department of Veterans Affairs nurse, and a legally armed protester.

But Chappelle is right about the importance and authority of the Second Amendment as a means of protection against government tyranny and for self-defense. It's disappointing to see both the killing of Pretti and the Trump administration's knee-jerk, defensive, illogical − and frankly unconstitutional − response, making this tragic event even worse.

Immediately following Pretti's death, the Trump administration made several concerning, sweeping statements about him and the fact that he was carrying a firearm among federal officers.

On X, the Department of Homeland Security said the Border Patrol agent fired "defensive shots" because he was afraid for his life, saying Pretti had a 9mm semiautomatic handgun, two magazines and no ID on him. DHS concluded, "This looks like a situation where an individual wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement."

I don't know Pretti's motive now, even days later, and there is no way the........

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