Presidential candidates can't decide what to do about guns, terrorists
The San Bernardino shootings have reignited debates about gun control, surveillance, immigration, and how to combat ISIS, and Republican and Democratic presidential candidates alike are weighing in.
There is a bipartisan agreement on one issue concerning the shootings.
"I'm convinced that it was a terrorist attack," said Republican presidential candidate and current governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie.
"We are dealing with an act of terrorism," said Hillary Clinton Thursday.
But everyone has their own approach to the threat.
GOP frontrunner Donald Trump wants to step up surveillance on mosques. "I have friends who are Muslims, they are very nice people, but they understand there is a problem," he said.
Christie is pushing for a return to the bulk phone data collection program revealed by Edward Snowden. "We need to do these things because if we don't do them, we're putting you and your families at risk," he said.
Republican Rand Paul led the charge to scale back the bulk data collection program. He has another approach. He said, "I think we need to put a pause on immigration from the Middle East."
Clinton pushed today for more bombings on ISIS in Syria and more gun restrictions here at home.
In one comment on how to deal with national security, she said, "I've got to tell you, if you are too dangerous to fly in America, you are too dangerous to buy a gun in America in my opinion."
The always heated gun debate got personal today when the New York Daily News called the head of the National Rifle Association a terrorist.
Republicans all insist the focus on gun control is misplaced.
Republican candidate Marco Rubio said, "We need bomb control because these people were building bombs! We need terrorist control!"
To drive the point home, Texas Senator Ted Cruz campaigned today at a gun range in Iowa. "Has anyone in this room noticed -- shooting, after shooting, after shooting happens in so called gun free zones? Look, if you're a lunatic, ain't nothing better than having a bunch of targets you know that are going to be unarmed."
Yesterday, a Democratic Senate bill to expand background checks for gun sales was defeated, along with it, a bill that would stop people on the terror watch list from buying guns.
Congress is slated to leave for the holidays next week, so even if there was consensus on what to do now, it wouldn't happen until January at the earliest.
