Kentucky Congressman Proposes to Repeal ‘Gun-Free Zones Act’

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) appeared on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday, where he made the case that since the majority of mass public shootings take place in gun-free zones like schools, the Gun-Free School Zone Act on 1990 – which makes it a crime to bring a gun on school grounds – should be repealed.

“This week I talked to two survivors of Columbine. One of them, Even Todd, related to me his story of being in the library when the two shooters came in. He was the first one shot. He hid under a desk. They found his and he pleaded for his life, then he escaped from the library, ran outside, and there were two police behind a shed.  They had taken up a position and weren’t going in.

“Now,  he tells me he that forgives the adults that day. The legislators, the administrators, and the police, because they couldn’t foresee what was going to happen at Columbine.

“He said it’s a shame, here we are 20 years later, it’s still happening, and people are rolling out these solutions that will do nothing.”

Massie continued, “He supports my bill the ‘Safe Students Act’ which would repeal the federal Gun-Free School Zone Act.”

Moderator Chuck Todd pushed back, asking why more and stricter background checks shouldn’t be implemented also.

The congressman replied, “I wish background checks stopped criminals or stopped school shootings but they don’t. They failed in Texas, with the church shooting; they failed at Columbine.

As Massie began to discuss his point further, Todd interrupted, asking,”Doesn’t that mean the background check system is flawed? Isn’t that the issue here?”

“Absolutely,” Masse agreed.

Todd continued, “Then why don’t we — we don’t put any information in it. Were not putting enough information in.”

“You’re trying to put lipstick on a pig,” Massie answered.

“Look: you can put all the information you want in it, but the shooter in Connecticut who stole his mothers firearms and shot her before he the crime isn’t going to be stopped by a background check. Neither were the two perpetrators in Columbine who got other people the buy the guns for them.

“One of those straw purchasers went to prison for that because – talk about the handgun at age 21 – the guy that went to prison, he was 22 and he sold a handgun to one of the perpetrators who was 17.

“Criminals are going to get a hold of guns.”

Massie pointed out the shortcomings of the implentation of armed guards at many schools across the country before turning his attention once again to the so-called gun-free zones.”

“And we’ve labeled all of our schools as gun free zones. We need to take those labels off, and put our kids in that two percent category of being safe, instead of being in that 98 percent vulnerable category,” he said.

“Let me ask you this though,” Todd said. “Sixty-five percent of the country disagrees with you. Do you you have an obligation to legislate on behalf of them at all?” NBC’s Chuck Todd asked.

“You’re in a bubble,” Massie said. “If you take out New York and California, eight percent of Americans have concealed carry permits, and the people watching this show right now? There are a lot of them getting ready for church in middle America. Putting their guns on.

“Millions of them, they’re going to be carrying guns to church, and to family dinner after that, and they’re going to be safe. And so, you know all these things, these hypotheticals that come out of the bubble in DC or New York City or California. What if this happens, what if that happens. We don’t have to ask what if this happens. People are carrying every day,” he said.

 

Watch the 7:30min interview here: