If anyone has done yeoman’s work in pointing out the danger of so-called “gun-free” zones in our nation, it has been John Lott, president of the Crime Prevention Research Center (CPRC). While his numerous warnings have seemingly fallen on the deaf ears of gun-ban advocates, he resolutely carries on, telling the truth that everyone needs to understand: “Gun-free” zones are only gun-free for the law-abiding.
After the September 28 attack at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc Township, Michigan, Lott again pointed out how an attack in a “gun-free” zone resulted in no victims being able to defend themselves against the attacker.
“This clearly appears to be yet another mass shooting in a place where civilians were banned from having guns,” Lott wrote in a report on the CPRC website. “Michigan state law bans people carrying concealed weapons in churches unless one receives permission from church officials, and the Mormon church’s official policy prohibits giving such permission.”
As Lott noted, state law bans carry on “any property or facility owned or operated by a church, synagogue, mosque, temple, or other place of worship, unless the presiding official or officials allow concealed weapons.” The Mormon Church handbook states, “Churches are dedicated for the worship of God and as havens from the cares and concerns of the world. With the exception of current law enforcement officers, the carrying of lethal weapons on church property, concealed or otherwise, is prohibited.”
In the attack, a former Marine rammed his truck into the church at about 10:25 a.m. when it was full of worshippers, began firing at congregants and then set the building on fire. At least four people were killed in the attack, two of whom were shot, and eight others were injured. The attacker, who allegedly had voiced his hatred for Mormons in the past, was killed in a gunfight with responding police officers.
Many of these attackers at churches, schools and other gun-free zones might be crazy, but they are sane enough to know where they’ll meet the least resistance. Many plan to die, but want to kill as many people as they can to garner more coverage from the media.
As Lott noted in his testimony before the Wyoming state Senate Judiciary Committee in February 2025,
Anybody who reads the diaries and manifestos of these mass murderers knows that time after time they explicitly talk about why they picked the targets that they did,” Lott told the committee. “And overwhelmingly, they explicitly say they want to avoid places where they know their victims might be able to defend themselves. You can look at the Nashville Covenant School shooter. In her diary, she talks about three different places that she considered before the school. And she turned down each of those because she was worried the people were carrying guns there and would stop her.”
By the FBI definition of an “active shooter” case, 94% of such attacks are committed in “gun-free” zones. One would think that would be enough for anti-gunners to possibly consider that “gun-free” zones aren’t actually all that “gun free.”
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