Here's what "gun-free" zones accomplish - nothing

21-year-old Arizona State University student Zachary Marco was shot and killed on campus last night in an apparent armed robbery gone bad.

The carry of firearms by law-abiding citizens is banned on public universities under Arizona state law, but that impotent fact didn't seem to affect the murderous assailants who executed this innocent student for the few dollars he had on him.

If Mr. Marco had been legally armed and able to defend himself, would he be alive today?  Maybe, maybe not.  We're positive he would at least liked to have had a choice in the matter.

"Lawful" gun-free zones do nothing but place the very people they purport to protect in mortal danger from these sorts of brutal thugs, who target these areas on purpose because they have complete assurance that no one will be able to successfully fight back.

"'This is really bizarre,' [sophomore Leila] Anderson said. 'At night it is kind of scary here.' She added that for freshmen, the campus is their home. 'If I was a freshman I would be really scared.'"

We would be terrified as well, if it were us that was forced to walk a dark campus alone at night with all effective means of self-defense forbidden to us.

The students there have now learned a vital lesson they will never receive in a college classroom - only they are ultimately responsible for their own safety and well-being, and it behooves them to prepare for the all-too-common time when that possibility indeed becomes a reality.