Baldwin, Vukmir address Pittsburgh synagogue shooting

With the country still absorbing details of a mass shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue, Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin and her Republican challenger, Leah Vukmir, discussed the tragedy and the nation’s political climate Sunday.

Eleven people were killed in Saturday’s shooting rampage. The alleged gunman was arrested.

Speaking outside Tabernacle Community Baptist Church in Milwaukee for a “souls to the polls” event, Baldwin said those affected by the Pittsburgh shooting “are indeed in my thoughts and prayers.”

”But I want to join so many who say that thoughts and prayers are no longer enough on our part when we hear tragedy after tragedy,” she said.

Baldwin recalled that six years ago, six worshipers were killed and four others were wounded during a shooting at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin in Oak Creek.

“This has got to stop, and we have got to exercise our power, our voices and our votes to do everything we can,” she said.

Vukmir called the shooting a tragedy and said her heart went out to all involved, including the entire Jewish community.

“These hate crimes are to be called out; they’re wrong,” Vukmir said after appearing at a rally at a Republican Party office in Franklin. “The movement towards anti-Semitism in this country is real, and it’s wrong. And it’s clear that this individual acted as a hate crime against those in that community. We have to speak out against it.”

Baldwin and the Rev. Don Barius Baker of Tabernacle Baptist were asked if there should be armed guards in schools and places of worship. President Donald Trump suggested the outcome of the Pittsburgh shooting would have been different if an armed guard had been in the building.

“I recall after the massacre at Sandy Hook one of the parents saying the right of his child to live should trump the right of others to have weapons that can inflict such violence,” Baker said. “It reflects what is the sad reality of the nation. And for the president to invoke such rhetoric (that) simply plays into the hands of the NRA and other zealots of that kind is shameful, quite frankly.”

Baldwin said she did “not believe that bringing more weapons into places of worship, places that are supposed to be sacred, is a solution.”

Vukmir said the use of armed guards should be left to those who oversee places of worship.

“If a temple wants to have that then they should be allowed to,” she said. “Absolutely. I believe in the right for individuals to protect themselves, be it in their home, be it in their synagogue or church.”

Vukmir said “those are decisions that should be made at the private level, in a home, in a business, in a school. I firmly believe that these people who are perpetrating these crimes would think twice if they knew there was a possibility that somebody would be there to shoot back.”

Asked if political rhetoric is somehow feeding recent events, including a man accused of sending pipe bombs to politicians, Vukmir said: “I just know that we as a country have got to come together. The level of discourse has really gone downhill as you look at things on Facebook, and social media, the things that people are willing to say and do.”

Baldwin said: “Words matter. People listen, especially when those words are spoken by people in power.”

Baldwin said those in leadership should “lead by example.”

Baldwin expressed hope that the U.S. Senate could agree to legislation on comprehensive background checks. Baldwin, a gun owner, has supported multiple gun-safety measures, including banning bump stocks.

“We are very close to having a bipartisan agreement on comprehensive background checks,” she said. “I recognize that that wouldn’t address all of these mass murders and tragedies, but certainly there are many that it would.”

Asked if there were legislative moves that could be made to deal with the issue of mass shootings, Vukmir said she supported a ban on bump stocks.

Vukmir, a gun owner who has been endorsed by the National Rifle Association, said she supported “carefully crafted red-flag laws provided there’s some judicial oversight.”