Ahead of South Carolina visit, Republican presidential candidate says it is better to identify potentially violent people before they commit crimes

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

New gun control measures are not the way to prevent mass killings such as the shooting deaths of nine people in a South Carolina church, the Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush said on Saturday.

Bush, who plans to meet black ministers in Charleston, South Carolina, on Monday, said identifying potentially violent people before they committed such crimes was a better approach than further restrictions on gun ownership.

Bush also said gun control was an issue that should be sorted out at the state level. “Rural areas are very different than big, teeming urban areas,” he said.

The comments came less than a day after Barack Obama eulogized the pastor who was shot to death on 17 June with eight parishioners at Emanuel African Methodist church.

“For too long, we’ve been blind to the unique mayhem that gun violence inflicts upon this nation. Sporadically, our eyes are open,” Obama said. “But I hope we also see the 30 precious lives cut short by gun violence in this country every single day.”

Bush also told reporters he was disappointed in both supreme court rulings from the last week that upheld Obama’s health care overhaul and legalized gay marriage nationwide.

He said he would repeal the health care law if elected.

As for gay marriage, Bush said he believed in traditional marriage between a man and a woman but indicated he wouldn’t fight the court’s ruling. He said long-term loving relationships should be respected as well as a person’s ability to express their religious beliefs.