A Cornell School of Law professor said there is a "single common thing" among mass shootings, and it's not religion or racism — it's gun-free zones.
In an editorial for USA Today Sunday, clinical law professor William A. Jacobson slammed gun-free zones for achieving the opposite of their intended purpose. He cited Umpqua Community College, the site of a deadly rampage by a 26-year-old who fatally shot nine people before turning the gun on himself.
"In almost all mass shooting situations, particularly at schools, the common theme is a gun-free zone, with the shooter being the only one armed person in the building for minutes or longer," Jacobson wrote. "And in each case, the shooter couldn’t care less about the gun-free nature of the building, and if anything, was drawn to such a location."
A building on the Umpqua Community College campus is seen on a hill over the North Umpqua River Friday, Oct. 2, 2015, in Roseburg, Ore. Armed with multiple guns, Chris Harper Mercer, 26, walked in a classroom at the community college, Thursday, and opened fire, killing several and wounding several others. (AP Photo/John Locher)
"Gun-free zones presume the good intentions of those entering the zone. And the overwhelming majority have such good intentions," Jacobson continued. "But for those who have bad intentions, gun-free zones turn schools and other locations into shooting galleries. The good people are unarmed, the evil person is armed."
Jacobson argued that as the security officers at the Oregon community college were unarmed and police officers were several minutes away, the "shooter had several critical minutes when he, and he alone, ruled over those who obeyed the gun-free zone rules."
"So what is to be done? Should we do away with gun-free zones, particularly at schools?" Jacobson wrote. "That certainly seems to be the lesson."
Read the entirety of Jacobson's article here.
