Recent mass shootings have renewed arguments over gun laws, but Gov. Pete Ricketts is not among those who support changing existing statutes.
Asked Tuesday whether he believes an 18 year old should be able to purchase an AR-15 style rifle in Nebraska, Ricketts said “absolutely, yes.”
When asked “why?”, Ricketts said most Nebraska gun owners are responsible people, and the focus should not be on the gun, but the person pulling the trigger. “That’s where the real problem lies. And that’s why I’ve said we’ve got to get the root cause of this, which is looking at mental health care, In fact, there was a study out last year from Stanford University that looked at 35 of these mass shooters, and determined 28 of them had untreated mental health care problems, for example,” said Ricketts
The Governor says the state is already improving mental health services and access to them, pointing to the $40 million in federal ARPA funding approved by the Legislature to strengthen those efforts inside Nebraska.
Later this summer, the state will be rolling out the 988 Helpline, which will provide some relief for the growing need for crisis intervention.
