Gun-Free Zones Do Not Make Us More Safe
GUN-FREE ZONES DO NOT MAKE US MORE SAFE
Columbine High School, Littleton, Colorado, 1999; Trolley Square Mall, Salt Lake City, Utah, 2007; Virginia Tech University, Blacksburg, Virginia, 2007; Westroads Mall, Omaha, Nebraska, 2007; New Life Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado, 2007; Pearl High School, Pearl, Mississippi, 1997. All of these, except Colorado Springs were in areas designated as gun-free zones, places where state, federal, and/or private property laws and regulations forbid people from carrying a firearm, except law enforcement or security personnel. The only difference between the first four incidents and the last two is the gunman was confronted by someone else with a gun before law enforcement could arrive. Do you feel more safe walking into a mall or school realizing the only people who may be carrying guns are criminals that do not care about the restrictions and aim to kill as many people as possible before either killing themselves or being killed? Instead of creating more zones without guns, laws should be enforced and/or modified to ensure the people carrying guns know how to use them and have met the mandatory requirements including training on how to handle a gun. American society has been lulled into believing gun-free zones make us safer, but they do not, because they restrict our ability to defend ourselves and provides criminals areas where they can destroy as many lives as possible before law enforcement arrives. History in the latter part of the twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty-first century in America saw a marked increase in the number of mass shootings. This increase coincided with the passing of more gun control laws that continued to whittle away at our right to defend ourselves. Gun control proponents have a simplistic view of human behavior when they believe if they make enough rules and post signs banning guns, they will not see gun violence in public places. Unfortunately, reality does not agree with
Columbine High School, Littleton, Colorado, 1999; Trolley Square Mall, Salt Lake City, Utah, 2007; Virginia Tech University, Blacksburg, Virginia, 2007; Westroads Mall, Omaha, Nebraska, 2007; New Life Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado, 2007; Pearl High School, Pearl, Mississippi, 1997. All of these, except Colorado Springs were in areas designated as gun-free zones, places where state, federal, and/or private property laws and regulations forbid people from carrying a firearm, except law enforcement or security personnel. The only difference between the first four incidents and the last two is the gunman was confronted by someone else with a gun before law enforcement could arrive. Do you feel more safe walking into a mall or school realizing the only people who may be carrying guns are criminals that do not care about the restrictions and aim to kill as many people as possible before either killing themselves or being killed? Instead of creating more zones without guns, laws should be enforced and/or modified to ensure the people carrying guns know how to use them and have met the mandatory requirements including training on how to handle a gun. American society has been lulled into believing gun-free zones make us safer, but they do not, because they restrict our ability to defend ourselves and provides criminals areas where they can destroy as many lives as possible before law enforcement arrives. History in the latter part of the twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty-first century in America saw a marked increase in the number of mass shootings. This increase coincided with the passing of more gun control laws that continued to whittle away at our right to defend ourselves. Gun control proponents have a simplistic view of human behavior when they believe if they make enough rules and post signs banning guns, they will not see gun violence in public places. Unfortunately, reality does not agree with
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