Wisconsin state Rep. Bob Gannon (R) said gun-owning citizens should “help clean our society of these scumbags” in a Monday statement defending concealed carry laws, The Wisconsin State Journal reported.
Gannon’s statement came after a suspect, who was still at large, shot a man in a local mall following a dispute, according to the report.
Gannon said that allowing citizens to bring their guns into public spaces such as shopping malls would increase safety.
“Wisconsin does not have a death penalty law, but with significant practice and careful aim, law-abiding citizens can help clean our society of these scumbags,” Gannon reportedly said in the statement. “Criminals no longer have any fear of our courts or our prisons, so it’s time that the citizens of this fine state stand up and fight back.”
Gannon also said he wouldn’t shop at the mall where the shooting took place because he didn’t want to give money to an establishment that “believes my Second Amendment rights have to be left in the car.”
One Democratic colleague, state Rep. Chris Taylor, criticized Gannon’s comments as a call “for a vigilante uprising,” according to the State Journal.
