Oregon college shooting re-ignites gun policy debate

After the mass shooting in Oregon on 1 October – the 45th school shooting in the US this year – that left nine dead, attention has focused on the state’s policy of allowing guns on college campuses, writes Scott Keyes for the Guardian.

A frequent refrain among conservatives is that violent rampages happen in places like college campuses and movie theatres precisely because guns are banned there. The thinking goes that someone setting out to commit a massacre can select a target where he is reasonably assured not to encounter an armed citizen. (There is no evidence of a shooter ever selecting a target precisely because it is a gun-free zone.)

In the Umpqua case, though, at least one student (and likely others) was carrying a concealed weapon during the massacre. Needless to say, this did not prevent the tragedy.
Full report on the Guardian site