Article on Lott’s Testimony to the Wyoming State Senate Judiciary Committee on a Bill to Eliminate Gun-free Zones, Bill Passes out of the Committee Unanimously.
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Tuesday’s testimony regarding House Bill 172 included input from nationally-known gun rights author John Lott, whose work has been quoted and, according to him, misquoted by state lawmakers and members of the public for years in the divisive debate over conceal carry. Lott had hoped to set the record straight about his data but was turned down when he asked for more time to defend his research.
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Testimony regarding the bill took up the committee’s entire session on Thursday, and continued for more than an hour Tuesday.
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The bill already passed the Wyoming House. At the close of Tuesday’s session, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted unanimously to forward it to the Senate Floor.
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Are Lott’s Numbers Accurate?
Lott’s research, including a study he did suggesting that up to 94% of mass shootings take place in gun-free zones, has been mentioned numerous times during testimony about gun-free zones. His name has come up frequently both during discussions this year regarding HB 172, and during similarly long sessions of testimony regarding a gun-free zones elimination bill before the 2024 legislative session.
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The 2024 bill passed both chambers of the Legislature but was vetoed at the last minute by Gov. Mark Gordon.
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As he was testifying via Zoom, Lott was cut off in mid-sentence and reminded that his allotted two minutes had expired.
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“OK, I was told maybe I would be, since I’ve been attacked so many times, I might have a little bit more time than that? Or Not?” said Lott, the author of “More Guns, Less Crime”.
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Committee Chairman Sen. Jared Olsen, R-Cheyenne, light-heartedly responded, “Maybe we give you two minutes for every time your name was mentioned?”
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But then Olsen reminded Lott that the two-minutes-per-speaker rule was inflexible, so it was time to move on to the next person.
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The strict time limit was imposed because so many people want to speak out, both for and against HB 172.
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If passed into law, HB 172 would allow people with concealed carry permits to carry concealed firearms in places now deemed gun-free zones, where civilians are currently banned from having guns.
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Throughout the testimony, those favoring the bills cited Lott’s research as evidence that gun-free zones don’t do anything except create “soft targets” for mass shooters.
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However, numerous others speaking in opposition to the bills stated that Lott’s research was flawed, and other studies indicate that about only 20% of the massacres were in gun-free zones.
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During his two minutes of testimony, Lott defended his research – stating that he included only mass shootings in public places that were not connected to any other crime.
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Many incidents that are actually “gang fights over drug turf” were included as mass shootings in other research, he said.
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He also noted that many mass shooters’ diaries and manifestos revealed that they deliberately sought out places where they knew other people weren’t likely to be armed. . . .
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