Gov. Christie Urges Comprehensive Nationwide Approach To Gun Safety
By David Madden
NEW YORK, N.Y. (CBS) -- The latest politician to chime in on the national gun control debate is New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.
His stance hasn't really changed, it's just getting a lot more attention now.
Christie, on a tour of the network morning shows, said today that he'd welcome consideration of something like a federal assault weapons ban -- as long as it's paired with changes on how the mentally ill are treated and a look at violence in media.
"I think we have to have a conversation about it," he said on CBS This Morning. "But if all we talk about is just controlling guns, which we should talk about, we're not doing enough."
But if you think it's unusual for a nationally prominent Republican even hinting at support for gun control, Larry Butler -- a political analyst at Rowan University -- says it may not be.
"I think what you're seeing is the difficulty of being a northeastern Republican," Butler says of Christie's stance. "On issues like guns, the northeast really has a different viewpoint than much of the rest of the country."
But Christie believes gun control is better left to the states, and New Jersey has the second toughest gun laws in the nation.
