Republican presidential candidate Tommy Thompson rejects the idea that more stringent gun control standards would have stopped the massacre that took place at Virginia Tech this week. The former Wisconsin Governor and U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary talked about the gun control issue with University of Iowa College Republicans today
“Instead of pointing the finger at guns, what you have to do is point at the finger at how do you spot individuals with mental problems, emotional problems that may go off and do a terrible thing like they did at Virginia Tech,” Thompson said. According to Thompson, the emphasis should be on the better monitoring students who show signs they could commit violent acts.
After meeting with the U-of-I College Republicans, Thompson told reporters that his assertion that he’s the only “reliable conservative” in the race is resonating with Iowa GOP activists. “I’ve got to do very well in the Straw Poll and that’s why I’m in Iowa every single week and we’re going to have a representative on my team on every single campus,” Thompson said. “I don’t know of any other campaign (that) is that far along.”
The Iowa Straw Poll in Ames this coming August will help winnow the field of prospective candidates. After Straw Polls of the past, candidates who did not finish in the top tier dropped out of the race — months before the Iowa Caucuses.