Fox News contributor Ted Williams told viewers of the right-wing network that “we need to talk about guns” after yet another mass shooting on Saturday.
“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result,” Williams, a defense attorney and former federal special agent, told Fox News’ Neil Cavuto after the shooting in Louisville, Kentucky.
At least four people were killed after a man opened fire on a bank with an AR-15-style rifle early Friday morning, according to law enforcement. It comes two weeks after a school shooting in Nashville, Tennessee, that left three 9-year-old students and three adults dead. The shooter in the incident was carrying three guns: an assault-style pistol, a rifle and a handgun.
“Just two weeks ago, I was standing in front of the camera when you had some kids, some babies, taken in Nashville, Tennessee, with someone who, by the way, had an AR-15,” Williams said. “And from what you’ve said here, Neil, this guy has the same weapon. And when you look at mental illness … and that weapon, it’s a dangerous concoction, and we have to do something about it in this society.
He added that “I’m sick and tired” of reporting on the shootings as they have happened in the past few weeks, and he dismissed the notion that it’s too soon to talk about it.
“We need to talk about guns. AR-15s are killing babies and our citizens, and we need to do something about it,” he said.
Later in the segment, Williams called for statewide “red flag” laws, which would take guns out of the hands of people deemed a danger to themselves or others.
Fox News hosts and guests regularly deflect the blame for other problems instead of discussing reforms to gun laws in the wake of gun violence. Another guest on the network Monday said the shooting will certainly spark a discussion about firearms, but added, “I hope politicians and so-called leaders don’t think about it right now.”
Williams was joined on Cavuto’s program by former FBI special agent Nicole Parker, who drew backlash after the Nashville attack when she called for more “side door” security at schools while failing to mention the weapons used in the massacre. The shooter in Nashville shot through a locked side door to enter the school.