Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., on Sunday praised President Donald Trump’s response to the latest mass shootings, and warned against “politicizing every event.”
In an interview on CBS News’ “Face The Nation,” Scott said “everyone from the president to my house … should take responsibility for how we respond to the situations.”
“I’m thankful that the president's response to this situation has been clear and decisive,” he said. “I would hope that we would always have that clarity and decisive response in the face of hate and rage and racism.”
He added: “We need to take a step back from politicizing every event.”
According to Scott, the United States is “in the midst of a mental health crisis that we have not truly identified.”
“I am happy to talk about background checks,” he said. “I've supported letters to the administration that eliminated bump stocks. …But let's make sure that we put a fine point on the actual place the numbers lead us and wherever that goes we should be willing to take a serious look at it.”
Scott said there was an important lesson that Charleston learned from its own mass shooting in June 2015.
“We said to each other that ‘when you hear someone who looks like you say something that is out of line or inconsistent or insensitive, make it your responsibility to respond to that individual within your own community’,” he said, adding: “Silence in and of itself is a part of the challenge.”
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