Rick Santorum said this morning that he misspoke when he suggested students take CPR classes when it comes to school shootings:
POLITICO – CNN commentator Rick Santorum said Wednesday that he misspoke last Sunday when he said survivors of a school shooting in Parkland, Florida, should have taken CPR classes in response to the attack instead of “looking to someone else to solve their problem.”
“The fact of the matter is I did misspeak in using the term CPR and I think Sanjay Gupta’s job here at CNN is probably safe as being the medical commentator on things,” Santorum, a former Republican senator and presidential candidate, said on CNN’s “New Day.”
He went on to explain what is real point was when me was making those comments:
Santorum said his comment about CPR “obscured the larger point” that past mass shootings have spawned organizations that he said have done significant work in combating school shootings by addressing mental health issues and bullying. Calls for divisive steps to impose stricter gun control laws obscure the work that such organizations do, Santorum said.
“What I’ve seen happen here is avoiding the issues that are really actually unifying,” he continued. “I mean, that’s really the most disturbing thing.”
Exactly right. Divisively attacking gun owners isn’t going to lead to any real solutions when it comes to dealing with people like Nikolas Cruz. There are other more paramount issues, however, that we can unify on that deal specifically with this shooting, especially when it comes to police reforms as well as how law enforcement interacts with mentally unstable people.