Colorado shootings: Gun control not the answer, Governor Hickenlooper says
People react outside Gateway High School a few blocks from the scene of the Century 16 Theatre shootings in Aurora, Colorado July 20, 2012.
In an interview with CNN, Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper said that stricter gun laws would not have prevented the recent tragedy in Aurora. “If there were no assault weapons available and no this or no that, this guy is going find something, right?” Hickenlooper, a Democrat, said on the show. “He’s going to know how to create a bomb.”
Rep. Ed Perlmutter, the congressman that represents Aurora, took a tougher stance, calling on Congress today to reinstate the assault weapons ban, according to The Hill. Meanwhile, Republican Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin defended lax gun laws, saying on Fox News Sunday that a "responsible individual" with a gun could have stopped "some of these deaths," according to Bloomberg News. “I don’t think society can keep sick, demented individuals from obtaining weapons," Johnson said on the show.
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The Aurora shootings have sparked a volatile debate about gun control, with New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg calling on President Obama and presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney to debate the issue, which so far hasn't been discussed in the campaign, the Boston Globe reported.
But Hickenlooper appears to be taking a less-confrontational approach. Watch a video of the interview below: