Mention in Newsweek: House Republicans who reintroduce bill eliminating all gun-free school zones rely on CPRC research

Jun 14, 2019 | Featured

Newsweek discusses the evidence put forward for eliminating gun-free zones at schools.

. . . The “98 percent” statistic cited by Massie was pulled from a November 2018 Chicago Tribune op-ed by the conservative author of The War on Guns, John R. Lott Jr., who is also the head of the Crime Prevention Research Center.

The U.S. Supreme Court found the original Gun-Free School Zones Act unconstitutional in the 1995 case, United States v. Lopez. The legislation was amended and today makes it “unlawful for any individual knowingly to possess a firearm at a place that the individual knows, or has reasonable cause to believe, is a school zone.”

On Monday, Massie referenced a Crime Prevention Research Center report that listed several cases in which concealed handgun permit holders helped stop mass public shootings or other attacks. In dozens of cases, armed citizens were able to restrain the perpetrators or otherwise prevent loss of life. “The day of the Virginia Beach shooting one of the considered taking a gun to work over concerns about a colleague, but didn’t because of #gunfreezone,” read the tweet from organization president John R. Lott Jr. . . . .

The Newsweek article makes some errors. The article notes: “a Crime Prevention Research Center report that listed several cases in which concealed handgun permit holders allegedly stopped mass public shootings or other attacks.”

We several types of cases that we collect, and I think that you will agree that we have a lot more than several cases and the examples aren’t just our opinion.
1) Mass public shooting cases that were stopped by concealed handgun permit holders. We have 21 cases since 2014, and, for most of these cases, we have statements from police, sheriffs or prosecutors saying that the permit holder likely saved many lives.
2) We have hundreds of cases where concealed handgun permit holders have stopped criminals. These are usually cases where the police have made findings that the person used a gun in legitimate self-defense. We haven’t been putting a lot of time into this year, so we don’t have as many cases as we have had in past years, but we have a lot more than a few instances.
3) There are also some cases where a concealed handgun permit holder has saved the lives of police officers.

Congressman Massie made extensive use of our research in his Bloomberg TV interview. Among the facts he used are these:

94% percent of mass public shootings occur in gun-free zones.

20 states allow teachers to carry guns at school

— The problems that people worry about with teachers carry guns aren’t occurring. Students aren’t taking teachers’ guns. Teachers aren’t shooting people. Police aren’t shooting teachers when they show up.

The false positive problem with the background check system (see also more detailed information here).

Not a single mass public shooting this century that would have been stopped this century as a result of background checks on private transfers.

johnrlott

3 Comments

  1. Tom Campbell

    Keep feeding Massie. It’s great, finally, to have someone in Congress who does get it and is willing to stick it to the anti-gunners and show them out as not having answers.

  2. Ram Muchewicz

    I have been cognizant of the communist’s desire to disarm Americans since the mid 1960’s.
    Different faces recycling the same old BS.
    The state of Missouri seems to have taken very pro – 2a stance (or a very anti – communist position),
    this is to their credit, along with fifteen other states that have been so inclined.
    At the beginning of president Trumps administration, with both houses in republican control, one would
    have rightly expected some restoration of our misappropriated liberty. If a citizen ever had “rights”,
    that citizen had every right to expect as much. Lately my president, who is surrounded by the treasonous
    rabble of both parties, refuses to educate himself beyond 2A stupid. He is prone to knee-jerk reactionary
    proclamations when confronted with the inhumanity of murderous freaks. He has inspired a red flag tsunami,
    and seems not to understand why he is getting bipartisan support. Red flag law + a vindictive sister + cops @
    zero dark thirty, already killed one Maryland citizen. The citizen may or may not have needed an intervention,
    but now we will never know, because a star chamber proclaimed a possible danger and the cops enforced a new law.
    I supported president Trump’s campaign. I admire his many successes. On matters 2A he has a NYC blind spot.
    I say now to president Trump please study the Missouri initiatives both those passed and those pending.
    Force a movement towards National Constitutional Carry . . . This will not destroy the communist cancer (not quite
    what Biden meant) but will stifle their 50+ years of success on the subject of 2A.

  3. Richard Hinman

    According to CPRC a “gun free zone” is a place where “members of the general public are not allowed to carry firearms”.
    If teachers are allowed to carry it still would be a “gun free zone”.
    You would have to allow anyone, (students*, parents, passersby, to possess guns. (* Five states allow people under 18 to carry firearms).
    How’s all that going to work?.
    Would gang members, (with concealed guns), be allowed to hang out on school grounds?.

    Does this legislation allow students to carry guns on school grounds?.
    ( Five states allow people under the age of 18 to possess handguns).
    Are members of the general public, (including gang members), allowed to carry guns on school grounds?.

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