U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (Photo: Andrew Beckett)
This week’s mass shooting at a community college in Oregon is once again prompting calls for gun control reforms.
While he said the deaths are a tragedy though, during a stop in Madison Friday U.S. Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) argued against taking any action that would politicize the incident. The Wisconsin Republican said “I’m not just all for hopping on some particular solution because we gotta do something. We have to make sure whatever we do actually fixes the problem, without depriving Americans of their constitutional and basic rights.”
The Wisconsin Republican said there are a host of factors behind each shooting incident and he’s still not sure what solution will work best, or if one even exists. “I’m not sure, I have my doubts,” Johnson said when asked what he thinks should be done to prevent future mass shootings.
AUDIO: Sen. Johnson weighs in on gun control debate (:55)
Many advocates of gun control have argued that a key area that needs to be focused on is closing loopholes that allow buyers to avoid background checks by purchasing firearms at gun shows. Johnson described that as a “quick political talking point” that has a number of issues surrounding it, which he worries could deprive citizens of their Second Amendment rights.
Johnson said any solution that’s being proposed needs to be stacked up against the “reality of the situation” with a thoughtful discussion and debate.