Any time there are mandates, everyone who can make a buck lines up to do so from the gubmint on down the line.
As to the OP and training, the difference today from yesteryear is mindset of use.
Way back when in my grand and great-grandparents' day using a firearm for 'whatever purpose necessary' was a given in everyday life to many. People were raised to know about and use a gun properly... whether it was to shoot supper, a rabid animal or a two-legged predator. If they could hit a tin can, they could hit a man and would do so when needed.