Democrats renewed calls for tougher gun laws after three children and a teacher were killed in an Oregon school shooting, but gun-rights advocates say the circumstances of the attack bolster their case against new restrictions. The teenage shooter reportedly opened fire with a shotgun purchased by his mother before an armed father-of-two-students, Kaylub Giamanco, pursued him into Silver Rail Elementary School and fatally shot him. Second Amendment advocates argue additional gun restrictions would not have stopped the killer and could make it harder for armed civilians like Giamanco to intervene.
"Democrats are shamefully weaponizing this tragedy in Oregon to advance their political agenda on gun control," Aidan Johnston, director of federal affairs for Gun Owners of America, told Fox News Digital. "But more gun control isn’t the solution. The school was a gun-free zone, and the killer didn’t use a so-called ‘assault weapon.’ What did stop the mass murderer and save lives was an armed bystander with good aim." FEDERAL APPEALS COURT UPHOLDS CONTROVERSIAL ILLINOIS BAN ON SEMIAUTOMATIC GUNS Gun-rights researcher John Lott, president of the Crime Prevention Research Center (CPRC), separately argued that restrictions on carrying guns can leave potential victims defenseless.
"These gun-free zones actually serve as a magnet for these attacks rather than stopping them from occurring," Lott told Fox News Digital. Lott pointed to CPRC research examining active shootings from 2014 through 2024, which he said found that legally armed civilians stopped more attacks than police did. The National Rifle Association similarly questioned whether new restrictions would have changed the outcome.
"Oregon already has nearly every gun-control measure on the anti-gun wish list — including an A- rating from groups that push them — yet that did not prevent this attack," the NRA said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "The armed bystander who pursued the shooter inside and ended the threat is the clearest reminder that, when seconds count, a prepared law-abiding citizen can stop a killer." Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., was among the lawmakers calling for action after the shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, where Bend-LaPine school policy bans firearms, including concealed guns.
"The best way to honor these victims is to at long last pass commonsense gun laws that reduce the risks of more children, parents, teachers and staff forced to live in fear of similar nightmares for their schools," Wyden said in a statement. JONATHAN TURLEY: JAMES TALARICO'S DEFENSE OF GUN CONTROL LEAVES OUT A KEY WORD Rep. Janelle Bynum, D-Ore., whose district includes Bend, also called for action while acknowledging the armed bystander's intervention.
"When are we going to practice that same bravery that that bystander had?" Bynum asked during a vigil, after urging action to keep guns away from people who should not have them. Senate Armed Services Committee ranking member Jack Reed, D-R.I., also cited the shooting in calling for additional gun laws and urging the Supreme Court to change course. "It is far past time for the Roberts Court to make it clear their decision on guns does not endorse unfettered and unregulated access to weapons," Reed said.
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