---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In a 2013 interview with academics who do…"
description: "\"“In a 2013 interview with academics who do research on gun control and gun-free zones, Jake Berry, a reporter with the Nashua Telegraph (New Hampshire)..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70b/john-r-lott-jr-9603_amendment_in-a-2013-interview-with-academics-who-d_2907984.jpg"
---

#  In a 2013 interview with academics who do research on gun…

![“In a 2013 interview with academics who do research on gun control and gun-free zones, Jake Berry, a reporter with the Nashua Telegraph (New Hampshire) found: “On the whole, Lott’s colleagues—both in the media and academia—don’t dispute his findings.”31 The dispute is over why these attacks keep…” quote by John R. Lott Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70b/john-r-lott-jr-9603_amendment_in-a-2013-interview-with-academics-who-d_2907984.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70b/john-r-lott-jr-9603_amendment_in-a-2013-interview-with-academics-who-d_2907984.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/70b/john-r-lott-jr-9603_amendment_in-a-2013-interview-with-academics-who-d_2907984.jpg)

> ““In a 2013 interview with academics who do research on gun control and gun-free zones, Jake Berry, a reporter with the Nashua Telegraph (New Hampshire) found: “On the whole, Lott’s colleagues—both in the media and academia—don’t dispute his findings.”31 The dispute is over why these attacks keep occurring where guns are banned: •​David Hemenway, a public health researcher at Harvard, explained: “I suspect that most places that mass public shootings could logically occur are ‘gun-free zones’ either determined by the government (schools) or by private businesses and institutions.” •​Similarly, Dan Webster, a public health researcher at Johns Hopkins, said: “Schools might be a likely target because that is where a mass of people congregate and those people involve a lot of troubled adolescents who may harbor bad feelings toward the people there who bullied them, were unfair to them, etc. The shooters in these instances didn’t say, ‘Hey, I’ll find a gun-free zone where I can shoot a lot of people.’ No, they went to a place for reasons wholly unrelated to gun-free zones.””

[John R. Lott Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-r-lott-jr/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The quote highlights debate over whether gun‑free zones cause mass shootings or merely attract shooters for unrelated reasons.

**In simple terms:** People argue about the cause of shootings in gun‑free areas.

Key Takeaway

Consider context before blaming policy.

Themes

gun policy public safety research debate mass shootings

Mood

analytical concerned

Type

explanatory policy‑oriented

When to use this quote

- school security planning
- legislative hearings
- media reporting
- academic research

Key Concepts

public health criminology policy analysis

Questions to Reflect On

- Are gun‑free zones a symptom or cause of violence?
- What other factors drive shooters to schools?

A Different Perspective

The quote does not address the effectiveness of armed security as an alternative.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Amendment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amendment/) [Bad feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-feelings/) [Free Zones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/free-zones-768265/) [Gun control](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gun-control/) [Gun Free](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gun-free-633261/) [Health](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/health/) [Occurring Guns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/occurring-guns-4172275/) [Public health](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/public-health/) [Public Shootings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/public-shootings-3167333/)

## Related quotes

> [We now know that gun-free zones, though well intentioned, do not prevent attacks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-prince/we-now-know-that-gun-free-zones-though-well-intentioned-do-not/)

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> [“A gun-free zone is not even a consideration; all it does is it restricts law-abiding citizens. It doesn’t do a darn thing for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-bird/a-gun-free-zone-is-not-even-a-consideration-all-it-does-is-it/)

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> [I live in London and I love living in a gun free environment and long may it continue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-owen/i-live-in-london-and-i-love-living-in-a-gun-free-environment-and-long/)

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## More by John R. Lott Jr

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