Good guy with a gun

A good guy with a gun, in American gun control debate, refers to the idea that the best way to prevent or end a mass shooting is with high accessibility of weapons to civilians and police willing to stop an attack.

On December 14, 2012, Wayne LaPierre, one week after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, in a press conference announcing the NRA's National School Shield Emergency Response Program, stated that "the only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is with a good guy with a gun.

[2][3] At the 2022 NRA Convention, soon after the Robb Elementary School shooting, Ted Cruz stated a variation of the phrase, saying that "what stops armed bad guys is armed good guys.

"[4] A 2013 study by Texas State University criminologists analysed 160 active shooter incidents, finding only one in three to have been prevented by lethal force from police or civilians.

However, a plurality of active shooter incidents are resolved by the attacker fleeing or committing suicide.

A protester holding a placard that states "Making good people defenceless won't make bad people harmless"
A protester at the 2020 VCDL Lobby Day rally, with a variation of the phrase.
A New York Times study reported how outcomes of active shooter attacks varied with actions of the attacker, the police (42% of total incidents), and bystanders (including a "good guy with a gun" outcome in 5.1% of total incidents). [ 4 ]