As usual, it didn’t take long for leftists to exploit the tragic school shooting in Bend, Oregon, to advocate for infringing on people’s right to keep and bear arms.
Several high-profile Democrats called for more gun control measures to stop mass shootings even though Oregon’s firearm restrictions did not prevent a 16-year-old from grabbing his mother’s shotgun and carrying out the shooting.
From Fox News:
Sen. Ron Wyden, who has represented Oregon in the Senate since 1996, made one of the most explicit calls for tighter gun laws following the shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, where the 16-year-old attacker used his mother’s shotgun, according to The Associated Press.
"The best way to honor these victims is to at long last pass common-sense gun laws that reduce the risks of more children, parents, teachers and staff forced to live in fear of similar nightmares for their schools," Wyden said in a statement.
Suzanne Bonamici, D-Ore., said Thursday night that "the epidemic of gun violence in schools across America must come to an end."
"No parent should have to wonder if their child will come home at the end of the day," Bonamici said. "Children deserve to feel safe — and be safe — in school."
Democratic Rep. Janelle Bynum represents Oregon’s 5th Congressional District, which includes Bend. She attended a nighttime vigil for the teacher and children — aged 5, 8 and 11 — who were killed in the shooting.
"When are we going to step up and say enough of killing our babies? When are we going to say that we need safe schools, that we need to make sure that people who should not have firearms don’t have them? When are we going to stop making excuses? When are we going to practice that same bravery that that bystander had?" Bynum told KTVZ 21, a local NBC station in Bend, at the event.
Statements from Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., and the state's Democratic governor, Tina Kotek, stopped short of calling for new regulation on guns, but both made it clear gun violence should have no place in American schools.
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I live just a few miles outside of Bend Oregon. My daughter lives there. I worked for the my towns school district for 35 years. My best friend is a Principal in Bend. I have many friends there. I’m angry tonight, extremely angry. I’m angry that 4 families just had their lives torn apart. I’m angry that this liberal town is already showing sympathy towards the shooter and questioning why the hero who saved countless lives illegally had a firearm on school property. I’m angry that most of the rhetoric is about banning guns and not about figuring out why another messed up teenager decided to carry out one of the most evil acts possible, shooting innocent children. Maybe my heart is in the wrong place. I’m deeply hurt for the victims families and praying for them. However, I’m raging over the fact that our leaders are already making political statements less than 4 hours after it happened. Three families kissed their kids goodbye for the last time and a spouse kissed their loved one goodbye for the last time. Someone knew this kid’s intentions and did nothing.
— Bear (@the_jabronie) October 16, 2026
But in their typical fashion, the anti-gunners are avoiding an uncomfortable aspect of this particular story. The shooter didn’t commit suicide, as many of these individuals do. The police did not arrive soon enough to stop him.
An armed bystander took action and saved countless lives after he spotted the shooter entering the school. The individual, who held a concealed carry permit, pursued the shooter into the school and fatally shot him before he could take more lives.
An armed bystander with a concealed carry permit stopped a 16-year-old shooter at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon today after the teen killed three children (ages 5, 8, and 11) and one teacher with a shotgun.Trendingpoliticsnews Law enforcement sources say the bystander followed the shooter into the school and fatally shot him, preventing more deaths. Officers arrived within minutes of the first 911 call (a shot into a car outside), but the threat was already neutralized by the civilian.Fox News This is the difference an armed good guy makes when seconds count. No confirmed motive or ideology for the shooter has been released yet. https://t.co/dmazxHOt52
— The Pale Truth (@ThePaleTruth) October 16, 2026
Unfortunately, the gunman managed to kill three children and a teacher before the bystander shot him.
Nevertheless, anti-gunners are still pushing for more gun control laws that would probably disarm the bystander instead of preventing the shooter from taking his mother’s firearm.
In fact, if the bystander had followed Oregon’s existing laws, there is no telling how many more children and teachers the gunman would have killed. Firearms are banned on school campuses in the state, which meant the good guy with a gun had to break the law in order to save lives.
Not only did this law prevent the shooter from carrying a shotgun on the campus, but it could have prevented the armed resident from stopping him.
The most recent National Firearms Survey, like many other studies, revealed that gun owners are far more likely to use their firearms to protect themselves or others than they are to commit a crime. It’s the one argument gun control advocates have not been able to contend with, which is why they typically ignore instances when an armed civilian saves lives.
Editor’s Note: The radical Left will stop at nothing to enact their extreme gun control agenda and strip us of our Second Amendment rights.
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