Testifying before the Nevada Assembly Judiciary Committee on eliminating many Gun-Free Zones

From the Las Vegas Review Journal:

. . . Proponents of the bill included John Lott, an academic and president of an organization called the Crime Prevention Research Center, who offered statistics to debunk some of the arguments against the bill.
Lott said his review shows no evidence in the states where campus carry is allowed that a permit holder has ever committed a crime on a campus. There were three accidents which resulted in no harm, he said. There are no cases of a permit holder shooting an innocent bystander and there are no cases of responding law enforcement shooting a permit holder by mistake, he said.
Lott said his review of mass shooting incidents shows that perpetrators intentionally seek out gun-free areas to commit their crimes.
The group Media Matters calls Lott a “discredited gun researcher” who makes false claims about gun violence. Lott’s group is associated with NRA member Ted Nugent. Media Matters says it is dedicated to correcting “conservative misinformation” in the U.S. media.
But Lott defended his research, and said Media Matters for several years would not let him correct the errors in the many attacks on him in the comment section on their site.
“They won’t even let their readers know there is a response,” he said.
Lott said his organization also has a prestigious academic advisory board.
The published research runs about 70 percent finding a benefit from campus carry laws for reduced crime to 30 percent showing no effect, he said.
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures in information dated from February 2015, 23 states let universities make the call on carrying concealed weapons, 20 ban weapons and seven, including Utah, Colorado and Idaho, allow firearms to be carried with some limitations. . . .

From the Las Vegas Sun:

. . . The testimony was emotionally charged on both sides and involved victims of violent crimes who were divided on the effect of guns at schools, places that have been home to some of the nation’s most horrific mass shootings in recent years.
Fiore brought in John Lott, a nationally known gun-law expert and author of the book “More Guns, Less Crime.”
Democratic lawmakers peppered him with questions about the potential of a campus carry permit holder shooting an innocent bystander.
Lott said he’s found no examples of such instances in his research across the country. He said permit holders are more lawful citizens than police officers and non-permit holders.
“The question is not how young people behave,” he said. “The question is about how permit holders behave.” . . .