Gun violence continues to be an issue across the country. With recent threats across the state, NewsChannel 5 spoke with U.S. Senator Barrasso about gun violence and student safety in Wyoming.

The senator said, "It, to me, is a critical issue. We need to make sure our students, our children, are safe." Barrasso says he recently visited schools across the state including Bain Elementary in Cheyenne.

When responding to the tragedy in Florida that happened in February, Barrasso said he believes the FBI was negligent. He said, "It does seem that the shooter in Florida was identified by the students, they knew about it, so this should have never happened."

When asked what should change, Barrasso said there needs to be additional work when it comes to looking at mental health care for those in need and instant background checks. However, he said the gun rights of law abiding citizens shouldn't be affected. Barrasso added, "I don’t think we ought to change the rights that we have, under the Constitution our Second Amendment rights to own and bear arms, and that is something that certainly for me, personally, and for the people of Wyoming, is something we shouldn’t compromise with."