(Pluralist)
Crime researcher and gun rights advocate Dr. John Lott argued Sunday that mass shootings like the ones that took place in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio over the weekend would be less likely to occur if more citizens were armed.
Lott, the founder of the Crime Prevention Research Center and author of “More Guns, Less Crime,” accused the media of ignoring the fact that most mass shootings happen in areas where guns are prohibited.
“And the thing that is frustrating to me, is that the media refuses to go and call these places gun-free zones,” Lott told ABC affiliate WJLA in an interview released on Sunday.
To back up his claim, Lott pointed to statements from the very people who perpetrated mass shootings.
“There is a reason why these killers—when you go and read the diaries or look at other statements or people who have left statements—try to pick out those venues where they know victims can defend themselves,” Lott said. “These people may be crazy but they are not stupid. They know if they go to a place where people can’t defend themselves, they are going to be able to kill more people then they could have otherwise.” Read more