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Walker Addresses Mass Shootings at Governors Meeting

Erin Toner

Gov. Walker says if the U.S. hopes to prevent mass tragedies, it must treat mental health issues.

He made the comment Friday at the opening of the National Governors Association meeting in Milwaukee. Also this weekend, the Sikh Temple in Oak Creek is remembering the six members a white supremacist gunned down a year ago. Reporters asked Walker about the best response to the tragedy and a mass shooting at a salon in Brookfield a few months later. He says the country needs to go beyond the weapons used.

"There’s a much bigger issue dealing with mental health concerns that go far beyond tragic incidents like this but the one thing at least we saw in our state was chronic, untreated mental health in one case or another, similar cases, as well as domestic violence issues we saw as well, and that’s the path we saw fit on," Walker says.

Walker shared the podium with John Hickenlooper, the Democratic Governor of Colorado. His state suffered a mass shooting at a movie theater in July of last year. Hickenlooper says while mental health issues are critical, there also should be universal background checks so guns don’t get into the wrong hands.