A Politico Magazine story debunked the conservative media myths that gunmen target “gun-free zones” and more armed civilians would stop mass shootings that have been pervasive following the Oregon community college mass shooting, explaining that “active-shooter scenarios occur in all sorts of environments where guns are allowed,” and “no armed civilian has ever actually stopped a school shooting.”

Following the October 1 shooting where a gunman killed nine people at a community college in Oregon, media figures immediately made references to the campus as a “gun-free zone,” falling back on the conservative media myths that gunmen target locations because guns are not allowed, and more people carrying guns would stop mass shootings.

On October 5, Politico Magazine contributor Matt Valentine struck down the myths that “a good guy with a gun will stop a bad guy with a gun,” and gun-free zones are targeted for mass shootings, writing “that's neither true in general nor true in this instance,” noting that guns are actually allowed under some circumstances on Oregon college campuses. More generally, Valentine explained that “active-shooter scenarios occur in all sorts of environments where guns are allowed,” and “no armed civilian has ever actually stopped a school shooting” :