Luke Messer: “The victims of the recent tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut, and the victims of the other recent shootings deserve our…”

“The victims of the recent tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut, and the victims of the other recent shootings deserve our solemn prayers for their loss and our deepest sympathy for their pain. As a Nation, we should focus our collective grief and attention on finding actual solutions to prevent such tragedies in the future. But gun bans are not the answer. History shows that gun bans only keep guns away from law-abiding citizens, not criminals. Blaming a gun for violence is like blaming a pen for a misspelled word. Mr. Speaker, this week President Obama hosted his latest in an unfortunate series of anti-gun pep rallies. This Nation does not need more political posturing. Instead, we need a serious discussion about how we address mental health as a Nation, and we need to take action to better protect our children in their schools. I stand ready to protect the Second Amendment rights of our citizens and work with anyone who will support policies that could actually stop future violence. ____________________”