N.H. lawmakers got it wrong, Oregon mass shooting site not a gun-free zone
Within hours of the Oregon school shooting that left ten dead and seven injured, Granite State gun rights advocates lined up on social media to blame authorities for banning guns on the campus.
“Yet another tragic shooting in a ‘Gun Free Zone’ by crazed killer,” wrote Rep. Max Abramson (R-Seabrook).
“When will America say enough is enough and allow guns ‘BACK’ on school grounds?” asked Rep. John Burt (R-Goffstown). “They use to have guns in schools back in the day and they had crazies back then like they do to,” he wrote on Facebook. “But back then the crazies knew the school had guns and went to other easier targets.”
Former Speaker Bill O’Brien (R-Mont Vernon) joined the chorus. “Stating the obvious truth that is completely ignored by the left: ‘Gun-free zones are the problem. Let’s repeal them.’ “ he wrote.
They were wrong.
Guns are not banned on the Umpqua Community College campus. A 1989 Oregon law prohibits public bodies from banning firearms carried by individuals who have a concealed carry license. In 2011, a state court ruled that the law prohibits public colleges from banning guns on campus. Anyone with a valid license is allowed to have a gun on the Umpqua Community College campus.
In fact, there were armed students on campus when the shooting rampage took place. “John Parker, a 36-year-old Army veteran studying to become a drug and alcohol counselor, is among the UCC students who hold weapons permits and bring guns to campus,” the Oregonian reported. “He had his gun and his license with him on campus Thursday when the shooting took place.”
“He was in the college’s veterans center, just a few buildings away from Synder Hall, with some other students who were similarly permitted and armed, he told The Oregonian/OregonLive.”
Parker and the others were talked out of attempting to intervene. "If we would have run across the field, we would have been targets,” he told the Oregonian. “We made a good choice at the time.”
Even when presented with the fact that Umpqua Community College is not a gun-free zone, Rep. Leon Rideout (R-Lancaster) refused to believe it. “U R not Bing honest,” he tweeted in response.
