Dem Rep. Quigley: We Should Treat Gun Violence ‘As a Public Health Issue’

On Friday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “Jose Díaz-Balart Reports,” House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force member Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL) advocated for treating gun violence as an issue of public health and stated that doing so “makes all the sense in the world.”

Quigley stated, “Look, treating gun violence as a public health issue — you had earlier segments on that — makes all the sense in the world. Identify the risk factors, tests, procedures that might work to reduce the gun violence that’s taking place in this country. I go way out there. Because ultimately, no single issue is going to solve this. This is a cultural problem that goes well beyond just these efforts. But you have to try, and these efforts will make a difference. I suppose it’s impossible to talk about banning the manufacture and sale of assault weapons. But let’s just use common sense, if the Second Amendment people talk about is to defend your home, your business, yourself, do you really need a weapon designed for a theater of war? You’re not really defending your home with that, no one would. You’re not hunting deer with that, no sportsman would. You’re hunting people. And we’ve seen it all too often.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett