Arming People Doesn’t Stop Mass Murders

December 16, 2012
Categories: Gun Control

Mother Jones looks at 30 years of mass shootings and finds in not a single case was the killing stopped by a civilian using a gun.
“Moreover, we found that the rate of mass shootings has increased in recent years—at a time when America has been flooded with millions of additional firearms and a barrage of new laws has made it easier than ever to carry them in public. And in recent rampages in which armed civilians attempted to intervene, they not only failed to stop the shooter but also were gravely wounded or killed.”
“There is no evidence indicating that arming Americans further will help prevent mass shootings or reduce the carnage… To the contrary, there appears to be a relationship between the proliferation of firearms and a rise in mass shootings: By our count, there have been two per year on average since 1982. Yet 25 of the 62 cases we examined have occurred since 2006. This year alone there have already been seven mass shootings—and a record number of casualties, with more than 140 people injured and killed.”