imported post
One of the many ideas common in the RKABA movement is this idea that spree-shooters only go after places where guns are prohibited, because they are afraid to get shot.
I question this theory.
I haven't seen any evidence that this is true, and of course you can't ask the shooters because they almost always fail to live long enough to get questioned.
I put forth the theory that spree-shooters are merely looking for places with lots of targets, where they can go out in a blaze of glory and take as many victims with them as they can.
In many states, including pro-gun states, these places just happen to be the ones which prohibit guns. Schools, post offices, workplaces, even many shopping malls, usually prohibit guns. Even in places where they don't have a ban, most people aren't carrying anyway.
The kid who shot up a Fairfax County, VA, police station a few years back obviously wasn't deterred by the fact that his intended victims were all armed, including the ones he killed. This tells me that at least some of these shooters aren't scared of the idea that some people in the chosen crime scene may be armed. Some of them may even like the idea, who knows.
It's just a theory of mine, I have no proof of course, but it makes more sense to me.
This doesn't change my attitude, though. Even though lack of a gun prohibition may not deter a spree-shooter or some other criminal, it does allow people to protect themselves against these shooters, and that is the real heart of the matter: to not infringe on a person's right to decide how he wants to protect himself from violent crime.
