Retired local judge calls for gun control conversation

A.J. Wagner, a retired Montgomery County Common Pleas judge and a current member of state school board, spoke out on massacre in Orlando, Florida.

Wager said this latest shooting points to an ongoing debate over sensible gun control.

” Why can’t we have the kinds of sensible gun control that make sure that those folks who are mentally disturbed or who are having issues, don’t have guns?” he said. “When somebody exhibits some kind of mental illness the guns have got to be removed from their house. When somebody displays some kind of tendency toward violence, such as domestic violence, anger, and there’s a gun in the house, get it out of the house.”

As for the gunman being able to access a crowded club, Wagner said, “I happen to know that from my experience on the bench that there are a number of clubs that already do have security at the door and check for guns and make sure there aren’t weapons when people come in. But if somebody is determined to come in with guns a-blazing, so to speak, they can get in and cause this kind of damage. A guard at the door isn’t going to stop that.”

The incident follows the fatal shooting late Friday of 22-year-old singer Christina Grimmie, who was killed after her concert in Orlando by a 27-year-old Florida man who later killed himself. Grimmie was a YouTube sensation and former contestant on “The Voice.”

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