Pratt: 'Gun-free zones are murder magnets'

Restrictive state gun laws are "lethal" and "killing people," Gun Owners of America Executive Director Larry Pratt says.

Appearing on a "Fox News Sunday" segment devoted to the anniversary of the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, Pratt said gun rights advocates need to turn to peeling back gun restrictions at the state level, despite the efforts of groups like Americans for Responsible Solutions, led by former astronaut Mark Kelly and former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.).

"Every one of our mass murders in our country has occurred in places where guns are prohibited," Pratt said. "The legislation that is on the books is lethal; it is killing people. All of these gun-free zones are murder magnets, and we simply have got to get rid of them. It’s an illusion to think that somehow we’re going to be safer because we can't have a gun in a particular area, because the bad guy's going to have a gun."

It has been a difficult year legislatively for gun control and safety advocates, where background check legislation has been scuttled and state senators were recalled in Colorado after supporting gun legislation. But despite those setbacks and the confident rhetoric of the gun lobby, Kelly said he'll continue to fight, including in the 2014 midterm elections.

"I still strongly believe that the first thing we should do is require a background check before somebody can buy a gun," he said. "We’re going to get members of Congress to think differently about the next election, and then we’ll see some real change."