GOP Rep.: More - not fewer - guns the answer

Updated 3:25 p.m. ET

Had Sandy Hook Elementary School principal Dawn Hochsprung kept a gun in her office, Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, argued today, the Newtown, Conn., shooting Friday that left 20 students and six faculty members dead would have had a far less tragic result.

"I wish to God she had had an M4 [carbine rifle] in her office locked up and so when she heard gunshots... she takes his head off before he can hurt those kids," Gohmert said of Hochsprung - who was among those killed - on FOX News Sunday. The alleged gunman, Adam Lanza, murdered his mother at home before driving to the school and killing 27 more, including himself.

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"Every mass killing of more than three people in recent history has been in a place where guns were prohibited," he continued. "They choose this place, they know no one will be armed."

A vocal leader in the right-wing tea party movement, Gohmert stands out among conservatives who have been lying low since President Obama on Friday suggested the tragedy will give way to "meaningful action" on the gun issue; Gohmert and Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, were the only pro-gun lawmakers or advocates to accept the networks' requests for interviews on the Sunday political shows.

Republican congressional leadership, like House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., have been silent on the issue since Friday, while the airwaves have been flooded with pro-gun control supporters, rendering Gohmert and Chaffetz the de facto spokesmen for congressional Republicans today.

Gohmert maintained that more, not fewer, guns is the answer, but said he agreed with Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., that any debate about reform needs to be "open-minded."

"Sen. Durbin's right... the conversation we've got to have has got to have everybody open-minded," Gohmert said. "We all react emotionally, that's why we've all shed tears and our prayers will continue to go to the people in Connecticut who've lost loved ones."

[marychgo]

Trying again....
Sorry, Louie, but you're pitching a fantasy! YOU'RE not John Wayne; I'M not John Wayne; even JOHN WAYNE wasn't John Wayne in real life!
We don't live in 13 colonies scattered up and down the east coast, where most of us lived in the middle of the forest, and the largest cities had 20,000 or 30,000 residents. There are 315,000,000 of us from coast to coast plus Alaska and Hawaii, and well over 200,000,000 of us live in fairly dense city and suburban areas. If one of us pulls out a weapon and fans off a half dozen shots at a "bad guy" in New York or Atlanta or Dallas or Seattle, we're much more likely to hit a "good guy" than the person we were aiming at. That's why MOST police chiefs do NOT want to see everybody and his mother "packing heat"!
But your fantasy DOES generate very large profits...for executives at the National Rifle Association and at gun manufacturers. They LOVE the idea of millions of Americans playing vigilante games...because that picture makes them VERY, VERY rich! Most Americans -- we who are likely to be the "good guys" in that "packing heat" scenario -- do NOT agree!

[Journalist665]

The proposal of Louie Gohmert and others to arm teachers with weapons is totally illogical and dangerous. For one it would require teachers to undergo training and have regular shooting practice in order to stand a chance of firing accurately in a crisis. Teachers do not have police training and therefore would probably be nervous in an attack and could shoot innocent children. This obsession with the Second Amendment is over the top. What is more important, a bit of legislation or peoples lives? In Israel we are surrounded by real dangers and the gun laws are very strict. No ordinary citizen is allowed to buy an assault rifle. Those are for security and military only. Have you heard of any mass shootings in Israel?? I rest my case!

[croixscout]

Do you really want to arm menopausal women with Glocks? Have you ever tried to figure out treat day at an elementary school with predominately women staff?

[marychgo]

Do you really want to demonstrate what a misogynistic so-and-so you are, croixscout? I've known a lot of very sane men and women and a lot of very messed up men and women, and the only time the differences between them had ANYTHING to do with their respective reproductive systems was when a specific man was suffering from testosterone poisoning and allowed the wrong "head" to tell him what to do!

[Deleven]

I wonder if Rep. Louie Gohmert thinks HE should have to arm himself in his congressional office, just like he believes an elementary school principal should arm herself in her school, just so a few nut cases can own an assault rifle. What a fool, and what fools those who hold the same belief.

[Yahoonese]

Thanks, Mr. Gohmert. Because you showed us a kind of logic, and let's try to elaborate and contemplate on it, rather than simply to negate it. If we apply your logic, then we should have a law that demands every airline passenger to carry a gun with them to prevent any future 911 from happening again. I cannot believe anyone would accept such logic. But the reality is that we have such minds elected to our congress, and even placed into the highest court of the land!

[Ben37221]

This man Louie Gohmert is a certified lunatic himself. he have shown time and time again that you cannot put his name and rational in the same sentence. If we are to go by his logic, we may as well arm every child from K-1 through collage. we do not need all this much guns. Americans are the most armed people on the face of the earth, not surprise, we are the most violent country in the civilized world. Absolutely more guns is not the answer. It is way past time to dial back all these rediculous gun laws that makes it more convenient to buy gun than to buy groceries. Enough is enough.

[sweetcakesmaria]

Japan has very strict very sensible gun control laws and have very few murders committed with guns. Japanese citizens aren't allowed to own high powered assault rifles or hand guns. Very few are allowed to own shotguns but must undergo stringent mental health testing prior to ownership. There will probably never be this type of gun slaughter in Japan because they have very sensible gun laws that protect all of their citizens.

[mollydtt]

I remember when Senator Wentworth was interviewed on CNN about how Texas universities should allow students to carry guns.
I work at a very large state university in Texas, and the pressure is huge. Students can get depressed very quickly when they find out their professor isn't going to pass them, or their girlfriend dumps them.
What REALLY astounded me was when Sen. Wentworth claimed that alcohol was never served on state university campuses. Our Student Union (notice the word "student") has a cafe where you can drink all the beer you want to buy.
Colleges = tremendous pressure, plus personal disappointments, plus who is to say that some despondent student will decide to kill himself, plus that dorky roommate that he hates, plus all those cheerful people that keep telling him to have a nice day.
more guns? Really? Students?

[mscampion]

The answer isn't more guns or less guns it's help for the emotionally distraught. It's reaching out for help, and NOT being ashamed that perhaps something could be emotionally wrong with a family member. The mere fact that before many families of the Connecticut school shooting discovered that their loved ones were dead other Americans were already pushing their own personal agendas is disgusting. Shut up and give these families the respect and consideration they deserve.

[hilario3]

Ever since the 911 attacks the GOP seeks to divide us during national
tragedies. How difficult is it to acknowledge that we need a national
conversation on gun violance. Is the gun lobby that strong that it
can make the public believe that nothing can be done to reduce or
eliminate these acts of extreme violance. Will NRA and Gun Lobby
advocates have to personally lose a child to understand the urgency
of reducing or elimating similar human loss in the future? I hope
the gun folk have the courage to explain their position to the parents
of these children that they are willing to do nothing in their memory.
For those that believe NOTHING can be done, look towards Europe and
their overall violance,the US is a leader in many things but not
in ehtical intelligent gun laws.

[sweetcakesmaria]

Japan is an excellent model that we should seriously look at.

[AttyFAM]

Steady4ever -

The UK a problem? The murder rate has declined there from 1.8 per 100,000 in 2001 to less than 1.0 per 100,000 this last year, with only 550 murders in the year. Maybe, the number of murders with guns have gone up - I don't know, but there are fewer real murders there than on British television. And if there are more murders with guns, you can't blame the British government which does a very good job of trying to keep the abominations out of the country.

[usbworks]

Gomer golly golly golly. Are you actually that stupid or have you sold your soul to the devil, I mean NRA?

[jnostromo]

The answer is not in arming teachers..the answer is in providing every school in this country with a trained security force and building that have the highest possible security measures built into them...We can spend millions in foreign cesspools but cannot develop security for our own people. We need a national security force under homeland security. It can be a boon to small manufacturing in this country and provide employment ....Our children , the future, are worth it.

[AWRojo]

Why stop at schools? Churches, shopping centers, little league ballparks, etc... Do you want to leave in the wild wild west? The answer is so simple, but difficult to digest for the assault weapon aficionado, THERE IS NO REASONABLE NEED FOR A CIVILIAN TO HAVE AN ASSAULT WEAPON!
I think our children deserve a better place than the one you are painting.