Romney: Texas shooting should spark 'thoughtful consideration'
(CBS News) MIAMI -- Reacting to Monday's shootings in Texas -- the third such incident to occur in recent weeks -- Mitt Romney said that "thoughtful consideration" needs to be given to how to deter such crimes without toughening gun laws.
"I happen to believe that this is not a matter of the weapon that is used, it's a matter of the individuals and the choices these people make, and we have to understand how to prevent those kinds of choices from being made," Romney told reporters at Miami International Airport. "I don't think gun laws are the answer, but I do believe that this is a topic that needs to be considered."
In College Station, Texas, police said a gunman killed a Brazos County constable and a civilian and wounded two police officers and a civilian near Texas A&M University. Police wounded the gunman, who died in custody. The incident came on the heels of mass shootings in Aurora, Colo., and Oak Creek, Wis.
(Romney talks Medicare in Florida earlier on Monday.)
"Clearly there's going to have to be consideration given to how it is these tragedies could be prevented," Romney said. "I don't have the answer for you today, but it's something I'm gonna give thought to and I'm sure a lot of other people in the country will do the same."
Meanwhile, Romney responded to Democratic charges that his new running mate Paul Ryan's budget plan is too radical, saying: "What's radical and extreme is to spent a trillion dollars every year than you take in. It's radical and extreme to pass on trillions of dollars of debts to our children, knowing we're never going to pay back these obligations that we've taken on. And Rep. Ryan has worked very hard to find ways to see if we can't get on track towards a balanced budget."
He also declined to delineate specific areas in which he disagrees with Ryan's plan. "I'm sure there are places that my budget is different than his, but we're on the same page as I've said before -- we want to get America on track to a balanced budget," he said.