Posted on 08/19/2018 3:50:59 PM PDT by jazusamo
Children are heading back to school with the debate over gun safety still raging six months after the Parkland massacre — and no issue is more heated than whether gun-free zones make students safer or more endangered.
Led by President Trump, gun rights backers are increasingly on the offensive, pushing to roll back the general policy consensus, enshrined in federal law, that guns and schools generally don’t mix.
A study by John R. Lott Jr., a gun crimes researcher, said close to 98 percent of mass shootings happen in gun-free zones, suggesting that they do little to stop, and may even invite, rampages.
Having access to guns limited to security officers doesn’t help much, he said.
“Even if they’re not in uniform but their job is to guard — and everybody knows their job is to guard — they are a target,” Mr. Lott said. “If you’re going to have an attack, they’re going to be the first guys taken out.”
But gun control advocates say ending gun-free zones would turn schools into the Wild West, with people who lack training or permits carrying weapons into classrooms, complicating matters for already overstretched and on-edge authorities.
Plus, they say, Mr. Lott’s data points just get it wrong, stretching definitions to shoehorn the numbers into a pro-gun narrative.
“Everytown believes that only law enforcement and other security officers should be armed in K-12 high schools,” said Adam Sege, spokesman for Everytown for Gun Safety.
Mr. Lott, who runs the Crime Prevention Research Center, has long been at the forefront of gun research, with pioneering work on the spread of concealed-carry permits and the resulting changes in crime rates.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
Safer for criminals.
Yes, just look at Chicago...aka, Mayberry.
Exactly.
Even if the zone itself is “safer” for criminals, they gave to leave the zone sometime, and thus expose themselves to severe retaliation.
Which may or may not come in the form which they delivered it.
Has there ever been a successful escape from a “gun-free” shooting site, in which the perpetrator could walk about afterward? Many times, the perp takes his own life. Sometimes, the pursuit make take several days, or even longer, but eventually, somebody, somewhere, pieces it all together, and the timeline is established.
Yep...I have two grand kids in HS right now and both are in Jr ROTC.
Air Rifle marksmanship and competition is a big thing and they have an indoor range, the air rifles are not the Daisy kind we had as kids but powerful and accurate.
Was surprised the libs allow it but happy to find it out, it’s a great program.
Safer for criminals, and creating more opportunity for mass murder and crime sprees. This is all these safe zones do.
Yes definitely safer for thugs....
Support Free Republic, Folks!
Gun Free Zone, Active Shooter
Everyone in the clubs were white. They were all civilized and not gang bangers and hitting their teachers and mouthing off every chance they got.
Abolish large government run schools.
Dang! I’m a genius.
There is no guarantee a good guy with a gun will save the day, but there is an absolute guarantee the madman will have his way with no resistance.
In coward county Florida, the shooter walked out of the area among the students who were escaping.
Well said, and potential shooters just knowing they’re not gun free zones undoubtedly will save lives.
Depends upon how many signs there are, the more signs the safer the area.
Another topic that’s been discussed a million times but never made public on a national level thanks to The Stupid Party incompetence and guts.
for criminals practicing their trade it is.
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