US President Barack Obama might not want to publicly condemn the violent act against Christians during the Umpqua Community College shooting last week, but Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee isn't afraid to voice his views on what happened.
"This is an evil thing, when people kill another person. It happens way too often," the former Arkansas governor told CNN's "New Day" program. "I think we always talk about what the weapon was, but whether it's a pressure cooker or whether it's a gun, we're dealing with people who are either deranged or they're very focused because they want to kill people in the name of terrorism."
Huckabee blames both America's lax gun control laws and stance on "sin and evil" for the incident, since the shooter was able to stockpile 13 weapons without anybody reporting him.
"He was able to do it because nobody really reported any of the signs," he said. "This guy apparently was a loner. He exhibited some traits of behavior and attitudes that were warning signals, but nobody acted upon them."
Huckabee said in New York City, there are posters urging people "if you see something, say something." This is exactly what people need to do when they see others doing something suspicious, even if it is a member of their own families.
There are now a lot of parents who fear sending their kids to school in light of the attacks. However, Huckabee said statistically, a school is not considered as dangerous place.
"Two million times a year, the presence of a gun in the hands of a legal gun owner stops a crime, a violent crime," said Huckabee. "We never hear that part of it."
He does not think that declaring gun-free sites is the solution to the problem, because it "just gives the shooter a real confidence that he walks into that environment and he's the only one armed. Even in this case, it turns out that he shot himself. It was only when the police confronted him that he did that," he said.
