Guns in a Gun Free Zone

The difference between a Gun Free and a Physically Secure Location is that the former is enforced by a sign and a misguided perception of the natural goodness of people and their desire to obey rules.  The latter is secured at all entrances by armed guards with the possible addition of surveillance equipment and metal and explosive detection.

Gun Free Zones are sought out by the deranged as a safe place to bring firearms and perform massacres.  The concept may have come from how peer pressure enforces Smoke Free Zones.  But peer pressure is not an effective weapon to bring to a gun fight.  The need to protect oneself in a Gun Free Zone creates a conundrum.

In Physically Secure Locations people are screened at the entrances and possibly the area perimeters by metal detectors, x-ray equipment, surveillance, and sometimes personal searches.  Airport gates, federal buildings, court houses, and other government buildings, along with special events where people under threat appear, some concerts, and other venues and events that one may suspect an attempt on a person's life to occur are Physically Secure Locations.

There is no need for armed personal protection inside Physically Secure Locations.  These areas are free from the kind of weapons that would seriously cause personal injury.  The entrance security minimizes that threat in varying degrees.