US presidential hopeful Rick Perry has said filmgoers should be able to take their guns into cinemas in order to help stop fatal shootings.
Speaking on CNN's State of the Union on Sunday, gun rights proponent Perry was reminded by host Jake Tapper of the killings in Lafayette, Louisiana on Thursday evening.
The former Texas governor, who is running for the Republican ticket for the 2016 presidential election, said “gun-free zones” were a “bad idea” and questioned whether allowing people to carry firearms in public spaces might have saved lives during recent fatal shooting incidents.
“I think that it makes a lot of sense to send a message across this country,” said Perry in response to a direct question from Tapper asking if he was suggesting that allowing filmgoers to carry firearms might be a “solution”.
“If we believe in the second amendment, we believe in people’s right to protect themselves and defend themselves and their families.”
Perry added: “I will suggest to you that these concepts of gun-free zones are a bad idea. I think that you allow the citizens of this country, who have been appropriately trained, appropriately backgrounded and know how to handle and use firearms, to carry them.
“I believe that, with all my heart, that if you have the citizens who are well trained, and particularly in these places that are considered to be gun-free zones, that we can stop that type of activity, or stop it before there’s as many people that are impacted as what we saw in Lafayette.”
Presidential candidate and democrat Bernie Sanders has also spoken out about the shootings but believes that the tragedy should lead to a different conclusion.
"Nobody should have a gun who has a criminal background or was involved in domestic abuse situations," he said on NBC's Meet the Press. "People should not have guns who are going to hurt other people, who are unstable. We need to make sure that certain types of guns used to kill people, exclusively, not for hunting, should not be sold in the United States of America."
John Russell Houser shot 11 people, killing two and injuring nine, at the cinema in Lafayette on Thursday night before turning the gun on himself.
The victims have since been named as artistic entrepreneur Jillian Johnson, 33, and student Mayci Breaux, 21.
A picture has emerged of Houser as a troubled man with racist and misogynist views who tried to blow up his home when it was foreclosed and sold at auction.
(Guardian Services)