New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie says Americans should have a “national discussion” about gun control while examining the stigma associated with mental health issues and violence in the media.
The Republican governor, speaking Wednesday on New Jersey
101.5 FM’s “Ask the Governor” show, said he thinks violent video games desensitize children to the real effects of violence, reports the Newark Star-Ledger. But he added that gun control “absolutely has to be part of that discussion too.”
He pointed out New Jersey has the second-toughest gun laws in the country, behind New York, and said he continues to support strong laws. Christie, However, offered no new policy recommendations to add to the debate that’s shaping up in Washington, where Vice President Joe Biden is heading up a task force on gun violence in the wake of the tragic Newtown, Conn., shooting last Friday..
Christie also noted that mental illness or problems are diseases “just like cancer, and they can be treated." He said that Adam Lanza, the shooter who massacred 20 children and six adults Newtown's Sandy Hook Elementary School, “obviously needed treatment and never got it, at least from current reports."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.