More Guns, Less Crime author John Lott may not be the most compelling writer. In fact, his prose makes ibuprofen directions read like an Ian Fleming novel. It’s a testimony to the power of Lott’s logic that any mainstream media outlet publishes his toast-dry editorials. You gotta feel for the editors over at Fox; they know that entertainment is their primary mission, yet realize that Lott’s arguments score a direct hit on their core audience’s sensibilities. Lucky for you, bloggers are under no obligation to republish boring bits, and can provide high-concept interpretations of esoteric information. In other words, Lott reminds readers that the U.K.’s gun ban does nothing to stop armed spree killings. And the same non-lesson applies to the rest of Europe. Here’s the list . . .
– Zug, Switzerland, September 27, 2001: a man murdered 15 members of a cantonal parliament.
– Tours, France, October 29, 2001: four people were killed and 10 wounded when a French railway worker started killing people at a busy intersection in the city.
– Nanterre, France, March 27, 2002: a man kills eight city councilors after a city council meeting.
– Erfurt, Germany on April 26, 2002: a former student kills 18 at a secondary school.
– Freising, Germany on February 19, 2002: Three people killed and one wounded.
– Turin, Italy on October 15, 2002: Seven people were killed on a hillside overlooking the city.
– Madrid, Spain, October 1, 2006: a man kills two employees and wounds another at a company that he was fired from.
– Emsdetten, Germany, November 20, 2006: a former student murders 11 people at a high school.
– Southern Finland, November 7, 2007: Seven students and the principal were killed at a high school.
– Naples, Italy, September 18, 2008: Seven dead and two seriously wounded in a public meeting hall (not included in totals below because it may possibly have involved the mafia).
– Kauhajoki, Finland, Sept. 23, 2008: 10 people were shot to death at a college.
Winnenden, Germany, March 11, 2009: a 17-year-old former student killed 15 people, including nine students and three teachers.
– Lyon, France, March 19, 2009: ten people injured after a man opened fire on a nursery school.
– Athens, Greece, April 10, 2009: three people killed and two people injured by a student at a vocational college.
– Rotterdam, Netherlands, April 11, 2009: three people killed and 1 injured at a crowded cafe.
Vienna, Austria, May 24, 2009: one dead and 16 wounded in an attack on a Sikh Temple.
– Espoo, Finland, Dec. 31, 2009: 4 killed while shopping at a mall on New Year’s Eve.
– Cumbria, England, June 2, 2010: 12 people killed by a British taxi driver.
