INDIANAPOLIS — With the National Rifle Association’s annual conference in Indianapolis this week, several big-name politicians are coming to the Circle City ahead of the 2024 campaign, including former President Donald Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence.
Pence came to the FOX59/CBS4 studio on Thursday. We asked him: Does the NRA’s message or platform need to change at all in the wake of these recent mass shootings in Kentucky and Tennessee?
“I’m someone who grieves with everyone witnessing the tragedy that took place in Louisville and days ago in Nashville,” said Pence. “But we’ve got to stand on those God-given liberties enshrined in our constitution and the right of law-abiding citizens to keep and bear arms is enshrined in the second amendment of the constitution.”
Pence continued.
“Beyond that, the American people want to see us take action to support law enforcement and protect kids in our schools and deal with the mental health crisis that too often is associated with these mass shootings.”
Pence said he supports tougher penalties for mass shooters and federal resources to help put more officers in public and private schools nationwide, topics he’s outlining in his speech to the NRA on Friday.
However, he’s not the only big-name politician taking the stage- there’s also former President Donald Trump – along with other Republican candidates for President.
Pence hasn’t said if he’ll indeed be running, as he continues to face pressure to testify in the investigations surrounding former President Trump.
So will Pence also run in 2024? That decision should come by this summer, according to the former VP.
“As we continue to travel around the county, we continue to be very moved by the amount of encouragement that we’re receiving to enter the race for the Republican nomination,” said Pence. “But I’ll tell you very honestly, we aren’t thinking about others that are in the race or others thinking about being in the race. We’re just trying to look at our experience, our sense of calling in this moment, and discern what it is that we might do.”
You can see more of our interview with Pence on this week’s edition of IN Focus, which airs Sunday morning on FOX59 and CBS4, and throughout the weekend on our stations across the state.