Crime Researcher and Congressman Make the Case for Abolishing Gun-Free Zones

John Lott and Thomas Massie co-authored a piece on Fox making the case for abolishing gun-free zones.

The recent massacre at the Virginia Beach Municipal Center has brought back the usual gun control debate that Americans have constantly seen in the media.

Lott and Massie, however, noticed “an all too familiar pattern” after this shooting. Specifically, this was another mass shooting that took place where victims were banned from carrying guns.

They noted that “most lives are claimed in places where people can’t defend themselves on equal footing.”

One of the bombshell revelations that they uncovered was that Kate Nixon, a compliance manager at the municipal center, was worried about a fellow employee and discussed with her husband the night before the attack about taking her concealed carry handgun. Although she is licensed to carry, the city bans individuals, including public employees, from carrying “any weapon” on city property unless authorized by a supervisor. As a result, she decided not to carry.

However, the murderer, DeWayne Craddock, did not follow the law and Kate Nixon became one of the 12 people slaughtered in this massacre. This is part of a larger trend that Lott has studied in recent times. Lott’s research indicates that 98 percent of all mass shootings in the U.S. since 1950 have taken place in gun-free zones.

In response to such an alarming trend, Massie introduced H.R. 3200 last week, “a bill that repeals the Gun-Free School Zones Act (GFSZA) of 1990.”

The Safe Students Act already has co-sponsors in Justin Amash, R-Mich., Jody Hice, R-Ga., Jeff Duncan, R-S.C., Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, James Comer, R-Ky., and Brian Babin, R-Texas.

Given the partisan makeup of the U.S. House, this bill will likely not come up for a vote.

However, it is getting the conversation started on the abolition of gun-free zones.