On Friday, former Vice President Mike Pence called for those who are convicted of committing a mass shooting to face the death penalty in an expedited timeline. He further argued that the country needed to place more attention on institutionalizing those with mental illnesses in order to curb gun violence.
Pence is widely considered to be one of the potential 2024 GOP presidential candidates. Still, the former Vice President has not yet made any official announcements regarding his intentions for 2024. During a speech at the National Rifle Association’s annual leadership summit in Indianapolis, Pence focused on his vision for the future of gun policies. The speech came after a recent school shooting at a Christian private school in Nashville, Tennessee left three adults and three 9-year-old children dead, and a shooting in Louisville, Kentucky, resulted in the death of five people.
Pence argued that while those who had committed the most recent attacks had been killed during the shooting by the police, there are many mass shooters still in prison. He added that it is “inconceivable” that the shooter responsible for the death of 17 people “at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018 is languishing in a Florida prison.” He added that for this reason, it is time for a federal death penalty statute that would require those who commit mass shootings to face execution within months rather than years.
He then claimed that more resources needed to be given to communities to help those who suffer from mental illnesses before they resort to acts of violence.
