After the latest school shooting in Texas – the 16th of this year alone – gun control activist Mark Kelly said we "absolutely" need a hardening of schools, like metal detectors and security officers.
"Absolutely, I think we should make it more difficult – I mean figure out a way to prevent people coming in the door with a firearm," Kelly, husband of former Rep. Gabby Giffords, D-Ariz., who survived an assassination attempt, told "Fox News Sunday"
"At the same time, make sure that that irresponsible person can't get the gun in the first place. There are a lot of reasons why we have the level of gun violence that we currently have in this country."
Host Chris Wallace pressed the retired American astronaut, engineer and U.S. Navy Captain, a gun owner himself, on the fact there is not necessarily a law that would have prevented the latest school shooting, which occurred just 10 miles from Kelly's house, he said.
"[NRA president Oliver North] talked about the school being the problem and not the fact that we have proliferated guns throughout society," Kelly told Wallace. "I'm a gun owner. Like Ollie, I am a supporter of the second amendment, but we make it so easy for irresponsible people and criminals to get access to firearms."
Despite the call for increased background checks or gun control, this Texas shooter had "no red flags" and no assault weapons, Wallace reminded.
"There are things that work," Kelly said.
". . . One thing that could be done, the state of Texas is an example, could pass a piece of legislation that requires parents to safely store their firearms if they have a child in the house. This kid was 17 years old. He shouldn't have access to a semiautomatic shotgun and a 38 revolver. There is legislation. It works. It works in the states that have less gun violence. They have stronger laws."
Stemming school shootings is going to carry an increased importance in the upcoming 2018 midterm elections, according to Kelly.
"Gun safety already is [a voting issue]," Kelly said. "We saw that in November in Virginia. We will going see this year in November.
". . . These kids from Parkland – who by the way Ollie [North] referred to as terrorists — I believe it is what he said about them several weeks ago — these kids are motivated. They are smart, they are articulate and they are angry. And they have a right to be angry. The kids in Santa Fe – I lived 10 miles from that school for 15 years – Those kids have a right to be angry about this."
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