When the advocacy group Everytown for Gun Safety announced it would be introducing a robust new array of classes to help people safely buy, use and store firearms, the decision caught some longtime supporters off guard.

"They need to remember who it was that was there to help them get where they are," said Colorado state Sen. Tom Sullivan, who began supporting the group after losing his son Alex in the 2012 Aurora mass shooting. "It's people who are out there who are visiting cemeteries and going to church services."

Though it may have surprised some, officials at Everytown for Gun Safety told CBS News their decision to enhance efforts to train gun users was wholly consistent with its mission. 

The organization was galvanized more than a decade ago by the horrors of the Sandy Hook school shooting to begin lobbying for stronger background checks, an assault weapons ban and other measures aimed at reducing gun violence. Greg Lickenbrock, a firearms expert who helped design the group's new gun training initiatives, said his goal is to expand the group's reach.

"I'm a responsible gun owner who believes in common-sense gun laws. Everything we do at Everytown is about safety and responsibility," Lickenbrock said. "We're not abandoning anything."

Everytown is marketing the new programming under the name TrainSMART, and plans to offers a variety of courses online where students can choose either on-demand or live Zoom-style instruction. The courses cover a wide range of topics including how to buy a gun, gun ownership, gun safety and marksmanship. The group hopes to offer in-person classes as soon as early next year. 

"For Everytown to move into the business of working with gun owners and meeting gun owners where they are — that is a crucial step in promoting gun safety," said Chris Marvin, a former Black Hawk helicopter pilot and fourth generation Army combat veteran who helped design the program. 

Marvin said the course relies on the same principles he learned during his time with the military: training, safety and accountability. 

"If it works for the military, if it works for the nation's profession of arms, it should be the best way to approach civilian gun training as well," he told CBS News. 

Marvin says that includes learning about the components of your firearm and proper storage practices for locking it up. 

In anticipation for its move into in-person instruction, the group has been hosting events at various gun ranges across the country to train and evaluate potential future instructors. 

Still, not all survivors and families of victims have bought into the new approach. 

Sullivan believes that with gun violence still rampant in the U.S., groups like Everytown need to focus on their original mission. 

"I hope that we're still reading from the same book, but maybe … they're a couple chapters ahead of me," Sullivan said.