Christie Endorses National Discussion On Gun Control

Chris Christie is joining the chorus for a serious discussion on gun control, as well as mental health and the portrayal of violence in the media, after the Dec. 14 massacre in Newtown, Connecticut shook the nation.

The New Jersey governor has been criticized in the past for supporting the strict gun control measures in his state, and echoed President Barack Obama in pushing for a larger conversation about the laws on his weekly radio show, “Ask The Governor.”

Christie said the debate cannot simply be dominated by how much to crack down on gun owners and manufacturers, but must include mental health treatment and how much violence is reaching people through movies, television, and video games.

"I think we need to have a large, national discussion . . . and gun control has to be part of it, too," he said. "But anyone who thinks fixing any one of those things solves the problem is kidding themselves. I believe it's a continuum of all those things."

This is not the first time he has offered support for gun control measures. The outspoken governor took heat from Sean Hannity in 2009 after he said the strong laws in New Jersey were good.

“At the end of the day, what I support are common sense laws that will allow people to protect themselves,” Christie said on the Fox News show. “But I also am very concerned about the safety of our police officers on the streets, very concerned. And I want to make sure that we don't have an abundance of guns out there.”