Three days after a gunman killed nine people at an Oregon community college and then shot himself dead, the Republican presidential frontrunner, Donald Trump, seemed to accept the inevitability of mass shootings in the US. 
 
 994 mass shootings in 1,004 days: this is what America's gun crisis looks like Read more 
 
 In a rare sit-down interview, for broadcast on NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday, Trump told Chuck Todd: “I have to say, no matter what you do, you’re gonna have problems. 
 
 “Because you have sick people. They happen to be intelligent. And, you know, they can be sick as hell and they’re geniuses in a certain way. They are going to be able to break the system.” 
 
 The New York real-estate billionaire, who boasts of possessing a concealed carry permit, said he did not see the need for increased firearms regulations after the mass shooting in Oregon. 
 
 He amplified the argument in an interview with George Stephanopoulos on ABC’s This Week, saying: “The gun laws have nothing to do with this. This is mental illness.” 
 
 At a rally in suburban Nashville on Saturday, Trump mentioned his New York state handgun carry permit and added that anyone who attacked him would be “shocked”, because he would emulate Charles Bronson in the vigilante film Death Wish. 
 
 “I’m a very, very big second amendment person,” Trump said in Tennessee. “This is about self-defense, plain and simple.” 
 
 Trump reminisced about the Bronson-starring 1974 film and got people in the crowd to shout out the title in unison. In the movie, an affluent, liberal architect embarks on a vigilante mission after his wife is killed and his daughter raped. 
 
 “Today you can’t make that movie because it’s not politically correct,” Trump said. 
 
 Speaking to NBC, Trump said those US jurisdictions with “the strongest, the most stringent laws [on gun control] are in almost every case the worst places. It doesn’t seem to work.” 
 
 Instead, at both rally and in the interview, as on the day of the shooting, the Republican frontrunner blamed mental illness for such shootings as that at Umpqua Community College. 
 
 Trump also defended his newly introduced tax plan, which independent economists estimate will cost $12tn over 10 years, by noting his ability to cut costs. He pointed to transportation as one place where he could save money. 
 
 “I look at the cost of a road where they’re gonna spend $600m building a simple road,” said Trump. “And I don’t mean I’m gonna save you a little bit. We’re gonna bring in … you’re gonna build a better road. You’re gonna have a better road for a fraction of the cost.” 
 
 Oregon shooting: Jeb Bush says 'stuff happens' as left calls for gun control Read more 
 
 Speaking to ABC, Trump also pushed back against those who have said he himself would save a significant amount of money under his tax plan. He claimed instead that the major tax cut in his plan would hurt him financially. Under the current tax code, Trump said, “I have very big deductions, some of them are ridiculous.” 
 
 He also hit back when NBC’s Todd pointed to polls which have him losing by a landslide to both vice-president Joe Biden and Vermont senator Bernie Sanders in any such general election matchup. 
 
 Trump, who has long touted his poll numbers in the Republican primary, said: “I haven’t focused on Bernie Sanders.” 
 
 He added: “I’ve been a guy that wins most of the time. And if I don’t win, I make it into a win.” ||||| FRANKLIN, Tenn. (AP) — Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Saturday channeled 1970s action star Charles Bronson in defending Second Amendment rights in the aftermath of the shooting at an Oregon community college that left nine dead. 
 
 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump signs autographs after speaking to campaign supporters, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2015, in Franklin, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Zaleski) (Associated Press) 
 
 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump waves to supporters as he leaves an event, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2015, in Franklin, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Zaleski) (Associated Press) 
 
 Trump said in a rally in suburban Nashville that he has a handgun carry permit in New York. He added that any attacker will be "shocked" if he tries to assault him, and that he would emulate Bronson in the vigilante film "Death Wish." 
 
 "Can you imagine with Trump, somebody says, 'Ohhh, all these big monsters aren't around, he's easy pickins, and then ... pu-ching!" Trump said to laughter and applause. "So this is about self-defense, plain and simple." 
 
 Trump criticized "gun-free zones," saying that the Oregon shootings could have been limited if instructors or students had been armed. He said better mental health care would help curb future shootings. 
 
 "Many states and many cities are closing their mental health facilities and closing them down, and they're closing them because they don't have the funding," he said. "And we have to start looking much stronger into mental health." 
 
 While Trump warned that "no matter what you do, you will always have problems," he argued that it doesn't make sense to limit access to firearms. 
 
 "It's not the guns," Trump said during his hourlong speech. "It's the people, it's these sick people." 
 
 He also criticized President Barack Obama's comments in response to the shootings as "divisive." 
 
 Trump's positions on gun control have evolved significantly over the years. While he now touts the National Rifle Association line, he once backed the ban on assault weapons and longer waiting periods for gun purchases. 
 
 "I'm a very, very big Second Amendment person," Trump said on Saturday. 
 
 Trump reminisced about Bronson's "Death Wish" and got people in the crowd to shout out the title of the 1974 film in unison. In the movie, an affluent, liberal architect embarks on a vigilante mission after his life is shattered by thugs who kill his wife and rape his daughter. 
 
 "Today you can't make that movie because it's not politically correct," Trump said. 
 
 Saturday marked the second time Trump had spoken in the Nashville area in five weeks. Tennessee is among the states holding their primaries on March 1, also called Super Tuesday, and he noted that his comments brought a strong response from the overflow crowd in gun-friendly Tennessee. 
 
 "As soon as I mentioned it the place went absolutely wild," he said. ||||| Story highlights Trump's comments on Saturday are his most extensive about firearms since he launched his campaign in June 
 
 Trump went on to say he has a license to carry a gun in New York 
 
 Washington (CNN) Donald Trump said Saturday that had teachers been armed at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon, the deadly shooting there this week would not have been as tragic. 
 
 Trump has previously cited mental health issues, not guns, as the biggest cause of shootings in the U.S. But his comments on Saturday are his most extensive and emotionally charged about firearms since he launched his campaign in June, as he spoke about his personal gun ownership and elicited his biggest applause of the afternoon in discussing gun rights. 
 
 "By the way, it was a gun-free zone," he said at a campaign event in Franklin, Tennessee. "Let me tell you, if you had a couple teachers with guns in that room, you would have been a hell of a lot better off." 
 
 Photos: Shooting at Oregon community college Photos: Shooting at Oregon community college Community members attend a candlelight vigil at Stewart Park for those killed during a shooting at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon, on Thursday, October 1. The massacre left nine people dead and nine wounded. The gunman also died. Hide Caption 1 of 15 Photos: Shooting at Oregon community college In response to the shooting on October 1, President Barack Obama delivers the 15th statement of his presidency addressing gun violence. "Somehow this has become routine," he said. "The reporting is routine. My response here at this podium ends up being routine, the conversation in the aftermath of it. We've become numb to this." Hide Caption 2 of 15 Photos: Shooting at Oregon community college Students and faculty are reunited with friends and family at the county fairgrounds on October 1. Hide Caption 3 of 15 Photos: Shooting at Oregon community college People wait for information at the fairgrounds on October 1. Hide Caption 4 of 15 Photos: Shooting at Oregon community college Hannah Miles, center, is reunited with her sister Hailey and father, Gary, on October 1. Hide Caption 5 of 15 Photos: Shooting at Oregon community college A student waits to walk off a school bus at the fairgrounds on October 1. Hide Caption 6 of 15 Photos: Shooting at Oregon community college Friends and family are reunited on October 1. Hide Caption 7 of 15 Photos: Shooting at Oregon community college A woman is comforted after the deadly shooting at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon, on October 1. Douglas County Sheriff John Hanlin announced at a news conference that the shooter was dead. Hide Caption 8 of 15 Photos: Shooting at Oregon community college Authorities secure the campus after the shooting on October 1. Hide Caption 9 of 15 Photos: Shooting at Oregon community college Students, staff and faculty leave the school on October 1. Hide Caption 10 of 15 Photos: Shooting at Oregon community college A bullet casing is marked at the scene of the shooting on October 1. Hide Caption 11 of 15 Photos: Shooting at Oregon community college People gather at a roadblock near the entrance to the college on October 1. Hide Caption 12 of 15 Photos: Shooting at Oregon community college Authorities respond after reports of the shooting on October 1. Hide Caption 13 of 15 Photos: Shooting at Oregon community college Police search students outside the school on October 1. Hide Caption 14 of 15 Photos: Shooting at Oregon community college A patient is wheeled into the emergency room at Mercy Medical Center in Roseburg on October 1. Hide Caption 15 of 15 
 
 Trump went on to say he has a license to carry a gun in New York, and if someone attacks him, he will respond. 
 
 "In fact, I have a license to carry in New York, can you believe that? Nobody knows that," he said. 
 
 Read More ||||| A few things you won’t hear about from the saturation coverage of the Newtown, Conn., school massacre: 
 
 Mass shootings are no more common than they have been in past decades, despite the impression given by the media. 
 
 In fact, the high point for mass killings in the U.S. was 1929, according to criminologist Grant Duwe of the Minnesota Department of Corrections. 
 
 Incidents of mass murder in the U.S. declined from 42 in the 1990s to 26 in the first decade of this century. 
 
 The chances of being killed in a mass shooting are about what they are for being struck by lightning. 
 
 Until the Newtown horror, the three worst K–12 school shootings ever had taken place in either Britain or Germany. 
 
 Almost all of the public-policy discussion about Newtown has focused on a debate over the need for more gun control. In reality, gun control in a country that already has 200 million privately owned firearms is likely to do little to keep weapons out of the hands of criminals. We would be better off debating two taboo subjects — the laws that make it difficult to control people with mental illness and the growing body of evidence that “gun-free” zones, which ban the carrying of firearms by law-abiding individuals, don’t work. 
 
 First, the mental-health issue. A lengthy study bymagazine found that at least 38 of the 61 mass shooters in the past three decades “displayed signs of mental health problems prior to the killings.”columnist David Brooks and Cornell Law School professor William Jacobson have both suggested that the ACLU-inspired laws that make it so difficult to intervene and identify potentially dangerous people should be loosened. “Will we address mental-health and educational-privacy laws, which instill fear of legal liability for reporting potentially violent mentally ill people to law enforcement?” asks Professor Jacobson. “I doubt it.” 
 
 Gun-free zones have been the most popular response to previous mass killings. But many law-enforcement officials say they are actually counterproductive. “Guns are already banned in schools. That is why the shootings happen in schools. A school is a ‘helpless-victim zone,’” says Richard Mack, a former Arizona sheriff. “Preventing any adult at a school from having access to a firearm eliminates any chance the killer can be stopped in time to prevent a rampage,” Jim Kouri, the public-information officer of the National Association of Chiefs of Police, told me earlier this year at the time of the Aurora, Colo., Batman-movie shooting. Indeed, there have been many instances — from the high-school shooting by Luke Woodham in Mississippi, to the New Life Church shooting in Colorado Springs, Colo. — where a killer has been stopped after someone got a gun from a parked car or elsewhere and confronted the shooter. 
 
 Economists John Lott and William Landes conducted a groundbreaking study in 1999, and found that a common theme of mass shootings is that they occur in places where guns are banned and killers know everyone will be unarmed, such as shopping malls and schools. 
 
 I spoke with Lott after the Newtown shooting, and he confirmed that nothing has changed to alter his findings. He noted that the Aurora shooter, who killed twelve people earlier this year, had a choice of seven movie theaters that were showing the Batman movie he was obsessed with. All were within a 20-minute drive of his home. The Cinemark Theater the killer ultimately chose wasn’t the closest, but it was the only one that posted signs saying it banned concealed handguns carried by law-abiding individuals. All of the other theaters allowed the approximately 4 percent of Colorado adults who have a concealed-handgun permit to enter with their weapons. 
 
 “Disarming law-abiding citizens leaves them as sitting ducks,” Lott told me. “A couple hundred people were in the Cinemark Theater when the killer arrived. There is an extremely high probability that one or more of them would have had a legal concealed handgun with him if they had not been banned.” 
 
 Lott offers a final damning statistic: “With just one single exception, the attack on congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson in 2011, every public shooting since at least 1950 in the U.S. in which more than three people have been killed has taken place where citizens are not allowed to carry guns.” 
 
 There is no evidence that private holders of concealed-carry permits (which are either easy to obtain or not even required in more than 40 states) are any more irresponsible with firearms than the police. According to a 2005 to 2007 study by researchers at the University of Wisconsin and Bowling Green State University, police nationwide were convicted of firearms violations at least at a 0.002 percent annual rate. That’s about the same rate as holders of carry permits in the states with “shall issue” laws. 
 
 Despite all of this evidence, the magical thinking behind gun-free zones is unlikely to be questioned in the wake of the Newtown killings. Having such zones gives people a false sense of security, and woe to the politician or business owner who now suggests that a “gun-free zone” revert back to what critics would characterize as “a wild, wild West” status. Indeed, shortly after the Cinemark attack in Colorado, the manager of the nearby Northfield Theaters changed its policy and began banning concealed handguns. 
 
 In all of the fevered commentary over the Newtown killings, you will hear little discussion of the fact that we may be making our families and neighbors less safe by expanding the places where guns aren’t allowed. But that is precisely what we may be doing. Both criminals and the criminally insane have shown time and time again that those laws are the least of the problems they face as they carry out their evil deeds. 
 
 — John Fund is a national-affairs columnist for NRO.
– Mass shootings in America aren't a gun problem, they're a mental health problem, according to Donald Trump. He told a rally in Nashville on Saturday that "it's not the guns, it's the people. It's these sick people," the AP reports. "Many states and many cities are closing their mental health facilities and closing them down, and they're closing them because they don't have the funding. And we have to start looking much stronger into mental health," he said. On NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday, Trump explained that gun control wouldn't help because "they can be sick as hell and they’re geniuses in a certain way. They are going to be able to break the system.” He also told NBC that to avoid copycat killings, the media should have followed the local sheriff's advice and refused to name the gunman after the mass shooting in Oregon. At the Nashville rally, Trump spoke against "gun-free zones," saying people "would have been a hell of a lot better off" if there had been "teachers with guns in that room" during the Oregon shooting, and said that since he has a handgun carry permit in New York, anyone who attacks him is in for a surprise, CNN reports. He brought up Charles Bronson's Death Wish, got the audience to chant the name of the movie, and said: "Today you can’t make that movie because it’s not politically correct," reports the Guardian. (Jeb Bush took a lot of heat for saying "Stuff happens" after the Oregon shooting.)