Deb Lane must certainly be counting her blessings tonight. The Jackson County Assessor was very nearly murdered today by a lunatic who walked right past a little white sticker declaring the county courthouse a “Gun Free Zone.” Tonight Deb Lane is alive not because Jackson County declared their courthouse a so-called “Gun Free Zone,” but rather because of the heroic actions of Larry “Buck” Koos. The Telegraph Herald describes today’s shooting:
Authorities said [Francis “Gus”] Glaser, who was at the meeting to argue a long-running property tax dispute, pulled a small handgun from his briefcase, pointed it at Jackson County Assessor Deb Lane and fired one shot as she was walking out of the room. Lane was not hit. Glaser was tackled by county Supervisor Larry “Buck” Koos and held down by Koos and others. A second shot was fired during the struggle, killing Glaser. Maquoketa Police Chief Brad Koranda said Glaser still was holding the gun with his finger on the trigger, indicating he shot himself. It’s unclear if it was intentional.Fortunately the shooter (who was not a concealed weapon permit holder) missed his target. Unfortunately we’re once again left with more evidence that “Gun Free Zones” do nothing to make our society safer. Sandy Hook Elementary, Aurora’s Century Movie Theater, the Virginia Tech campus, and so on and so on. Case after case that a simple sign on a door does absolutely nothing to increase security. These feel good measures are nothing more than a distraction (if they’re even noticed) to lunatics who are dead set on hurting innocent people inside these “Gun Free Zones.” In this case the crazed shooter, intent on doing harm to others, not only carried a gun right past that “Gun Free Zone” sticker on the door, he even bypassed the courthouse’s seldom used metal detecting wands.
It’s a shame that we have to witness this type of incident. It’s a shame Jackson County doesn’t realize their sticker does nothing to protect those inside their courthouse. And it’s a shame that anti-gun zealots will continue to hide the truth, that so-called “Gun Free Zones” are all too often “Mass Shooting Zones” just waiting to happen. Thankfully today one of the good guys, Buck Koos, was able to thwart a potential bloodbath, and Deb Lane is still alive — no thanks to a little white sticker on a door.
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