A predictable gun lobby talking point in the aftermath of yet another mass shooting is that "mass shootings occur where guns are banned" and that "if someone had a gun they could have prevented the shooting." In fact, Umpqua Community College (where the most recent mass shooting took place) itself wasn’t a gun-free zone. John Parker Jr., an Umpqua student and Air Force veteran, told multiple media outlets that he was armed and on campus at the time of the attack last week.
A predictable gun lobby talking point in the aftermath of yet another mass shooting is that "mass shootings occur where guns are banned" and that "if someone had a gun they could have prevented the shooting."
However, the FBI tells us that active-shooter scenarios occur in all sorts of environments where guns are allowed—homes, businesses, outdoor spaces.
The canard of the armed civilian mass-shooting hero is perpetuated by exaggerations and half-truths. Since many of these shooters intend to die, either by their own hand or by police, armed security does not seem to be a deterrent. There was an armed guard at Columbine. There were armed campus police at Virginia Tech.
In fact, Umpqua Community College (where the most recent mass shooting took place) itself wasn’t a gun-free zone. Oregon is one of seven states that allow guns on college campuses—the consequence of a 2011 court decision that overturned a longstanding ban.
John Parker Jr., an Umpqua student and Air Force veteran, told multiple media outlets that he was armed and on campus at the time of the attack last week.
Other factors besides the presence of guns may factor into targets that mass shooters select. Places like schools, theaters and churches are place where a lot of people gather in a small space with limited means of exit/escape.
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