During the October 28 Republican debate in Boulder, Colorado, presidential hopeful Donald Trump criticized gun free zones as being “target practice for the sickos and for the mentally ill.”
His statements on gun free zones came in response to a question from debate moderator Carl Quintanilla, regarding the fact that part of Trump’s reaction to the Umpqua Community College attack was to point out that the college was a gun free zone. Trump and Quintanilla bantered back and forth regarding the fact that Trump has a permit to carry a gun in New York, and Trump explained that he does not always carry but he likewise does not broadcast when he is carrying in order to keep the element of surprise.
Trump then seized on gun free zones and suggested that would-be attackers literally “look around” for such zones, so as to find to victims who cannot defend themselves; cannot shoot back.
He segued from the danger of gun-free zones in general to gun-free military bases by calling attention to the four Marines and one Sailor who were gunned down in cold blood in Chattanooga on July 16 of this year. He spoke of how “highly decorated” two of the victims were and spoke to the absurdity of the fact that “they weren’t allowed–on a military base–to have guns.”
Trump stressed that the Chattanooga gunman was able to kill them because they were unarmed. He added, “If they had had guns, [the attacker] wouldn’t have been around very long.”
He summarized his position thus: “I think gun free zones are a catastrophe. They are feeding frenzy for sick people.”
Follow AWR Hawkins on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.
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