Debunking Myths About Safe Schools

Myth #1: A “Good Guy with a Gun” Will Stop an Active Shooter

FACT

Armed, Non-Law Enforcement Civilians Exchanged Gunfire with the Shooter In Only 3.1% of Active Shooter Incidents

Of 160 incidents studied by the FBI and U.S. Department of Justice:

13.1%

ended when UNARMED civilians safely and successfully restrained the shooter

56.3%

ended on the shooter’s initiative, either by suicide, simply stopping, or leaving the scene

The remaining incidents were resolved without civilian intervention. 

ABC’s Video Series Shows Poor Response to “Active Shooters” by Civilians

Accidental School Campus Shootings by CCP Holders is Common

Concealed Carry Permit Holds Are Often Over-Confident of Their Abilities

Even law enforcement experts acknowledge the limits of “active shooter” training:

  • Decisions must be made in seconds

  • Shooter methods and actions are highly unpredictable

  • 1/3 of police officers, acting solo and taking direct action against the attacker, were shot

  • The shooter may have planned diversions or booby traps

Source: The Police Response to Active Shooter Incidents

CCP holder’s actions can easily endanger students, staff, and police/peace officer’s lives

  • They do not know the specific drill tactics that the school uses

  • They would not know if they are in a real-life situation or an unannounced drill

Source: Best Practices Considerations for Schools in Active Shooter and Other Armed Drills

Myth #2: All Concealed Carry Permit (CCP) Holders Are “Good Guys”

FACT

CCP Holders Have Committed Violent Crimes, Murder, and Even Mass Murder

Over 900 Non-Self Defense Deaths Involved CCP Holders

Including 31 mass shootings that killed 147 people

This is undoubtedly a fraction of the total number of gun incidents involving CCP holders, as there are NO federally mandated laws requiring tracking.

With just this glimpse of incidents gleaned from news reports and limited state data available, we must reject the notion of allowing anyone with a CCP to bring their gun onto school grounds.

Source: concealedcarrykillers.org.

Gun Violence by Concealed Carry Permit Holders is Not Uncommon

CCP holders have, as a group, low rates of criminal offending and must pass a background check to ensure that they do not have any condition, such as a felony conviction, that prohibits firearm ownership.

However, data from a nationally representative survey of state prison inmates determined that of those who were incarcerated for committing a violent crime with a firearm in the thirteen states with the lowest legal standards, 60 percent legally possessed the firearms when they committed the crime.

Source: Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research, Firearms on College Campuses, 2016

Myth #3: Gun-Free Zones are Targeted by Mass Shooters

FACT

 The last five, high-fatality mass shootings were NOT IN GUN-FREE ZONES.

February 2018
High School in Florida
Armed Resource Officer on site
17 dead, 14+ wounded

November 2017
Church in Texas
Weak CCP laws and heavily pro-gun citizens
26 dead, 20 wounded

October 2017
Concert in Las Vegas
Armed security on site
59 dead, 500+ wounded

July 2017
March in Dallas
Dozens of police on duty
5 officers dead, 7 officers wounded

June 2016
Nightclub in Orlando
Armed off-duty policeman working security 
49 dead, 53 wounded

The large majority of high-fatality mass shootings have occured where there was NO RESTRICTION on guns.

Mass shooters typically target a specific person, group or institution:

  • 13% occurred in a gun-free or gun-restricting zone

  • 57% involved a shooters current or former intimate partner

  • 71% occurred in a private dwelling

Source: Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research, Firearms on College Campuses, 2016