Myth-Busting Monday
MYTH: Nearly all public mass shootings occur in gun-free zones
This article originally appeared on GVPedia.
Summary:
Researcher John Lott claims that between 1950 and 2015, all but two public mass shootings in America took place in so-called gun-free zones where citizens were prohibited from carrying guns.
Lott claims in the same time period that every public mass shooting in Europe occurred in a gun-free zone.
However, Lott misclassified multiple mass shootings, falsely claiming several European and American incidents occured in gun-free zones.
The evidence suggests that shooters do not deliberately choose gun-free zones for their attacks. Instead, the evidence indicates that shooters usually choose locations with which they have a deep-seated emotional grievance or places they anticipate will have a crowd.
Lott’s Claim:
In an October 2015 opinion piece in The Detroit News, Lott repeats his claim that mass shooters prefer to attack places where guns are banned. Lott says shooters are concerned that armed guards or civilians carrying concealed guns will shoot back in defense.
Lott writes, “Since at least 1950, all but two public mass shootings in America have taken place where general citizens are banned from carrying guns. In Europe, every mass public shooting has occurred in a gun-free zone.” Lott lists the individual European mass shootings on his website.
The Facts:
Lott misclassified multiple mass shootings, falsely claiming several European and American incidents occurred in gun-free zones.
For example, Lott lists the February 2015 mass shooting at the Družba restaurant in Uherský Brod, Czech Republic, as occurring in a gun-free zone. Czech Republic allows nearly every physically fit adult without a criminal record to easily obtain a gun license.
The country’s most popular gun license is for self-defense and allows for the concealed carry of two weapons anywhere except schools, court buildings, and some mass demonstrations. License holders are allowed to carry concealed firearms in bars and restaurants, but must not be intoxicated. In fact, Uherský Brod’s largest employer is firearms manufacturer CZUB.
According to Czech news reports, the shooter entered at least two restaurants, but left before settling on Družba because it had the largest crowd. Lott’s claim is false because the restaurant was not a gun-free zone, and contrary to his theory, the perpetrator appeared more interested in a place with many victims rather than a place where victims were weaponless.
In another example, both his 2020 book, Gun Control Myths, and 2016 book, War on Guns, cite the 2014 mass shooting in Moncton, Canada, as proof that mass shooters avoid places with guns. The perpetrator of the shooting, which claimed the lives of three Canadian policemen and injured two others, mocked gun-free zones on his social media. However, the shooter targeted only police officers. All of the police officers were armed, so this incident Lott cites undermines his claim.
Lott incorrectly states that only two or three mass shootings have occurred where civilians are allowed to carry firearms is also false. Lott contends that the Umpqua Community College (UCC) shooting in Oregon occured in a gun-free zone, but Politifact reports that Umpqua permitted people with concealed-carry licenses to carry arms on campus.
Furthermore, it was widely noted that several students were armed at the time of the shooting, and the college “was never designated as a ‘gun-free zone’ by any signage or policy,” a spokesperson for the college told Politifact.
Lott also falsely claims the 2010 shooting at Yoyito-Cafe Restaurant in Hialeah, Florida, occurred in a gun-free zone. Florida law allows concealed carry in restaurants, but not in bars or areas of the restaurant primarily devoted to the serving of alcohol. Yoyito-Cafe separates the bar area from the rest of the restaurant with a partition, allowing patrons to carry everywhere but the bar area. Further, the restaurant’s menu clearly shows that the restaurant is primarily dedicated to serving food, not alcohol.
Rebuttal:
In August 2016, Evan DeFilippis and GVPedia President Devin Hughes authored an article for Vox outlining several of Lott’s misclassifications.
Lott posted a rebuttal on his website that read, “DeFilippis and Hughes have another piece attacking Dr. Lott’s new book, The War on Guns.” Lott writes, “You will see that many of these claims have already been address [sic] in past responses, but as is very typical for DeFilippis and Hughes, they ignore responses that already exist and just assume that their readers won’t check their claims.”
Counter:
Lott devotes a significant portion of his rebuttal to support his false claim that Umpqua Community College was a gun-free zone. While acknowledging that an Oregon appeals court ruled in 2011 that colleges could not prevent gun owners with concealed weapons permits from bringing their firearms to campus, he argues that UCC’s employment policies and student handbook overrule state law.
In reality, Umpqua students frequently carried guns on campus. “You are allowed to conceal and carry on that campus,” said Umpqua student Jeremy Smith. Fellow student John Parker was actually concealed carrying on campus during the attack. “When I got into the room that was locked down,” said Parker, “one of the professors asked if anyone was concealed carry. I raised my hand and said: ‘Don’t worry, nobody is coming through that door.’”
Lott also claims that DeFilippis, Hughes, and Everytown for Gun Safety are wrong about Yoyito-Café in Hialeah allowing firearms.
Lott writes on his website, “Apparently, the restaurant was at the time a very popular venue for parties serving alcohol. If Bloomberg’s group had checked, they would have found that it was a gun-free zone.” Lott links to his old blog that has a screenshot of a “nightlife directory” that lists the restaurant as available for a party. Lott says this supports his argument that the restaurant made more than 50% of their revenue on alcohol, making it illegal to allow firearms.
However, the restaurant’s description on the directory highlights “dining” and “hearty menu,” but not alcohol. “So long as you’re wearing a shirt and shoes, you’ll have a fine time dining at Yoyito’s Cafe. It’s casual, no-fuss atmosphere is what lures locals back, as well as their hearty menu selections that leave them satisfied.”
Lott explains in his rebuttal, “The organization of the bar in the center of the restaurant is also important for this determination. After it reopened, I called up the Café to check on these facts.” Lott says he called the restaurant on June 10, 2010.
However, he does not report asking if the restaurant allowed guns. He does ask what share of revenue they received from alcohol and concludes, “The restaurant does serve alcohol, and because it is frequently used for parties its revenue from alcohol is actually above 50%… So this was technically a gun-free zone.”
Lott recognizes that the organization of the bar is important because the bar could be a gun-free zone while the dining area allows guns, but does not mention how the cafe answered his questions. Lott’s rebuttal does not provide new or convincing evidence to support his claim that mass shooters seek gun-free zones.
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