Rep. Marsha Blackburn says the tragic on-air shooting murders of two journalists in Virginia has predictably triggered top Democrats to squawk about the need for more gun laws.
"They never stop. That's one of the things that's so frustrating to people is that they don't stop and it's always about the gun. It's never about the person that is pulling the trigger of that gun," Blackburn, a Tennessee Republican, said Wednesday on "The Steve Malzberg Show."
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"They don't want it to be about the person that grabs the knife and does the stabbing. They don't want it to ever be seen in that way."
"It's always got to be about the gun and the fact that there was just a person that got hold of the gun. This fits into their agenda to get rid of our Second Amendment rights."
Hours after the murders of Alison Parker, 24, and cameraman Adam Ward, 27, who were shot dead while doing a live news report for WDBJ-TV in Roanoke, Va., Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said the killings proved the nation needs stronger gun-control laws. The White House also urged Congress to pass of stricter gun legislation.
The killer, a disgruntled former colleague identified as Vester Lee Flanagan II then committed suicide.
"The thing is, its mental illness. It is political correctness that so many times causes or allows people to say 'Well, it wasn't the person's fault, it was the gun's fault.' What we need to do is realize that that is not the reason," Blackburn said.
"This is a horrific tragedy. My heart goes out to those families. How tragic is this? A young man, a young woman, they're engaged, it's their last day on the job."
"There is someone seeking revenge, thinking that they had been wronged and they choose to take it out on these two and to the lady who is from the chamber of commerce and is recovering. We all pray for her recovery."
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