WASHINGTON — In the wake of a shooting at a Republican congressional baseball practice in nearby Alexandria, Virginia Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine told reporters Wednesday that it was not the right time to talk about gun control.
Calling the incident outrageous, the 2016 vice presidential Democratic nominee told reporters he hopes for a quick recovery of Louisiana Republican Rep. Steve Scalise and praised first responders for their actions on the scene.
When asked if he believed it was a good time to talk gun control politics, he replied, “No, because we don’t know the facts. We need to know the facts rather than speculate. We just need to know the facts.”
Some are not heeding that call. The Progressive Change Campaign Committee released a statement saying:
“Violence has no place in America, our communities, or our politics. We condemn this shooting and send our thoughts and prayers to the victims. We also need action from Congress. Americans across the political spectrum are fed up with lawmakers’ inaction in the face of this epidemic of gun violence. We need Democrats and Republicans to work together on common-sense gun reform that is supported by a majority of Americans and would save countless lives.”
Virginia Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe claimed during his presser that it was not a good time to go into gun control politics but went on to make a remark about the issue anyway.
“This is not what today is about but there are too many guns on the street,” the governor said. “We lose 93 million Americans a day to gun violence.”
When asked why he was bringing it up anyway, McAuliffe replied, “I’m talking about it today. This is a very serious issue,” he replied.
He added, “With 93 million people a day, it’s just something.” He later corrected himself saying “93 individuals a day.”