As TTAG readers are well aware, the biggest problem with so-called “gun-free” zones is that only people who follow the law are gun-free in such zones. Criminals, who by definition aren’t restrained by gun laws, carry freely and prey upon those who are disarmed by the government.
Now, a U.S. Congressman from Virginia has introduced legislation that would place the burden for those wounded or killed in areas where guns are forbidden on the government entity that instituted the restriction.
Rep. John McGuire, R-Virginia, introduced the “Shall Not Be Infringed Act” on March 16. The measure would allow people harmed by firearms in gun-free zones to seek compensatory damages from the state or locality in which the incident occurred.
“Gun-free zones do not prevent danger; instead, they make law-abiding citizens helpless victims,” Rep. McGuire said in a news release announcing the legislation. “Criminals do not care about the law, and it is our right enshrined in our founding documents to protect ourselves and our families. My ‘Shall Not Be Infringed Act’allows for individuals harmed by a firearm in a gun-free zone to sue the state or locality.”
The ‘Shall Not Be Infringed Act’creates a limited cause of action (civil remedy). If a state or locality has a gun-free-zone law, a harmed person may sue the state or locality and recover compensatory damages and pain and suffering when the following conditions are met—harm by another’s firearm use, harm occurs in a “gun-free” zone, the person is authorized to carry in their state of residence, and the person could have averted or mitigated the harm if allowed to carry.
The measure defines a “gun-free” zone asany geographic area where public carry is prohibited under federal, state or local law. It also has some teeth to it, using DOJ grants to drive compliance. For fiscal years after the bill’s transition period (as described in Sec. 2(b)(1)), noncompliant states and localities may face up to a 99% reduction in Byrne-JAG funds (Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act programs) and COPS funds.
Incidentally, John Lott, president of the Crime Prevention Research Center (CPRC) has been warning of the danger of “gun-free” zones for years. In fact, Lott’s research shows that the vast majority of mass shootings occur in such areas where lawful citizens do not carry, but criminals remain armed.
Lott noted this important fact in his testimony on mass shooters and “gun-free” zones before the Wyoming state Senate Judiciary Committee in February 2025.
“Anybody who reads the diaries and manifestos of these mass murderers knows that time after time they explicitly talk about why they picked the targets that they did,” Lott told the committee. “And overwhelmingly, they explicitly say they want to avoid places where they know their victims might be able to defend themselves. You can look at the Nashville Covenant School shooter. In her diary, she talks about three different places that she considered before the school. And she turned down each of those because she was worried the people were carrying guns there and would stop her.”
