I was debating whether to make a blog post about this at all, but it seems after tragedy strikes, we’re always a bit eager to find out whether the shooting happened in a gun free zone.  I recognize the political value of pointing things like this out, but I do have to question the practical value when it comes to gun free zones that are not enforced by the law, and are enforced by fine print.
It seems sure that college campuses throughout the country are, for all practical purposes, actual gun free zones. Either you have force of law backing that up, in cases of states like Texas and Tennessee. Or you have the threat of expulsion of firing backing it up, in the case of Virginia or Pennsylvania. But the recent mall incident in Kansas City doesn’t really persuade me.
How many of us honestly follow weapons prohibitions posted in fine print?  Do we read the fine print on doors as we enter an establishment?  I don’t.  I’m sure the malls I carry in on a regular basis have a policy of some sort that prohibits weapons on their property. I don’t go out of my way to check. If they want me to notice, they can post conspicuously.
I think it’s more honest just to admit that, just like police can’t be everywhere, people who lawfully carry guns can’t be either. Sometimes incidents, like the one in Kansas City, are going to happen, and sometimes, there won’t be anyone nearby who is legally armed.
It’s worth it pointing out the uselessness of these prohibitions, but I doubt anyone is actually paying attention to them, including permit holders. I think for some of these tragedies, it comes down to the odds not working out.  That will happen sometimes.