Repeal Deadly Gun-Free Zones

NAGR’s Position: Support

The Gun Free School Zone Act of 1990 prohibits any unauthorized individual from knowingly possessing a firearm on school property. In 1995, the Supreme Court ruled the law as unconstitutional under the Commerce Clause of the Constitution. The following year, changes were made under Interstate Commerce, circumventing the Supreme Court ruling, and has since been upheld in Circuit Courts but has not made it back to the Supreme Court.

So-called “gun-free” zones serve only as “criminal-safe” zones where armed criminals can be assured their victims are defenseless. Disarming law-abiding citizens (such as teachers, principals, security guards, and parents) does not reduce the likelihood of injury or the loss of life in the case of mass shootings.

In fact, virtually all of the public mass shootings in recent history have been perpetrated in so-called “gun-free” zones.

Within “gun-free” zones, criminals know the likelihood of their victims being able to fight back with equal or greater force is lower than in places where anyone could be carrying a weapon.

In a report, the Crime Prevention Research Center stated that 92% of mass shootings between January 2009 and July 2014 occurred in “gun-free” zones. There is no statistical anomaly that can explain this. Evidence and criminal testimony prove a direct causation between “gun-free” zones and mass shootings.

“Gun-free” zones are nothing more than a safe haven for criminals. The best way to combat a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. To do this, we must allow the states and schools to decide the best policy to keep their school safe.

The National Association for Gun Rights fully supports the repeal of “gun-free” zones, and actively lobbies against attempts to disarm Americans and leave them defenseless. Removing these “gun-free” zones and allowing law-abiding citizens to carry their firearms will curb, and in many cases could help prevent, loss of life in mass shootings.