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| Pete Buttigieg on Gun Violence: ‘I Was Part of the First Generation That Saw Routine School Shootings’ | Pete Buttigieg on Gun Violence: ‘I Was Part of the First Generation That Saw Routine School Shootings’ |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Gov. Steve Bullock on Tuesday night both spoke in stark terms about how the epidemic of gun violence had personally affected them. | |
| During the Democratic presidential debate, Mr. Buttigieg, the 37-year-old mayor of South Bend, Ind., recalled being in high school when two students killed 12 classmates and a teacher at Columbine High School in Colorado in 1999. | |
| “I was part of the first generation that saw routine school shootings,” Mr. Buttigieg said. “We have now produced the second school shooting generation in this country. We dare not allow there to be a third.” | “I was part of the first generation that saw routine school shootings,” Mr. Buttigieg said. “We have now produced the second school shooting generation in this country. We dare not allow there to be a third.” |
| Mr. Buttigieg, who supports universal background checks and banning assault weapons and has endorsed a national gun licensing program, described the difficulty he has faced in helping families who were victims of gun violence in his city. | Mr. Buttigieg, who supports universal background checks and banning assault weapons and has endorsed a national gun licensing program, described the difficulty he has faced in helping families who were victims of gun violence in his city. |
| “It’s the worst part of being mayor, getting the phone call, consoling grieving parents,” he said. “And we have a mass shooting’s worth of killings every day in this country.” | “It’s the worst part of being mayor, getting the phone call, consoling grieving parents,” he said. “And we have a mass shooting’s worth of killings every day in this country.” |
| Mr. Bullock, the governor of Montana who is himself a gun owner, noted his personal connections to both sides of the issue. | Mr. Bullock, the governor of Montana who is himself a gun owner, noted his personal connections to both sides of the issue. |
| “I’m a gun owner, I hunt,” he said. “Like far too many people in America, I have been personally impacted by gun violence. Had an 11-year-old nephew, Jeremy, shot and killed on a playground. We need to start looking at this as a public health issue, not a political issue.” | “I’m a gun owner, I hunt,” he said. “Like far too many people in America, I have been personally impacted by gun violence. Had an 11-year-old nephew, Jeremy, shot and killed on a playground. We need to start looking at this as a public health issue, not a political issue.” |
| “I agree with Senator Klobuchar,” he added, referring to a fellow Democratic presidential candidate, Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota. “It is the NRA.” | “I agree with Senator Klobuchar,” he added, referring to a fellow Democratic presidential candidate, Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota. “It is the NRA.” |
| As recently as 2016, Mr. Bullock rejected universal background checks and emphasized that he had expanded “Second Amendment rights” during his tenure as governor. | As recently as 2016, Mr. Bullock rejected universal background checks and emphasized that he had expanded “Second Amendment rights” during his tenure as governor. |
| But he has since changed his position, writing last year in The Great Falls Tribune, of Montana, that he now supports universal background checks, limits on magazine size and laws that would temporarily prevent those deemed risks to themselves or others from obtaining firearms. | But he has since changed his position, writing last year in The Great Falls Tribune, of Montana, that he now supports universal background checks, limits on magazine size and laws that would temporarily prevent those deemed risks to themselves or others from obtaining firearms. |