Senator Braun’s Weekly Update | Summer of Solutions Tour, Red Flag Laws, Buttigieg Campaign

THIS WEEK, SENATOR BRAUN barnstormed Indiana from Fort Wayne to Warsaw to Indianapolis to Evansville on the first week of his 50 city Summer of Solutions Tour, leading the conversation following President Trump’s remarks on measures to prevent guns from being abused by criminals and the dangerously mentally ill while defending the constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens to protect themselves and their families.

Other topics this week include Mayor Pete Buttigieg’s campaign, the national debt, and the GOP’s future on healthcare.

At a lunch stop with constituents at Shapiro’s in Indianapolis, Senator Braunaddressed curbing mass shootings with legislative solutions that Indiana has led the way on, including ‘red flag’ laws which have gained support from GOP leaders and President Trump.

“He cited the shooting in El Paso, Texas as a case where a red flag law could’ve made a difference.

“‘The mother of the shooter in El Paso called into the authorities,” Braun said Thursday. “And what happened? Nothing. You shouldn’t need a manifesto put out there before you take someone seriously.’”

Senator Braun sat down with the IndyStar for an in-depth interview during his Summer of Solutions Tour, digging into President Trump’s wins for Hoosiers, red flag laws, and Mayor Pete Buttigieg’s campaign. Below are highlights from the interview:

ON MAYOR PETE: 

“He’s a classic guy that his whole life has dreamed about being a career politician. I would love to debate Pete Buttigieg just one-on-one and it would be just like the primary and general election when I went against people that had been in the system of politics. You can’t call Pete a career politician, but he sure looks like he wants to be one. And I think you ought to look at what he’s done in South Bend. I’d love to debate that. I don’t think he’s ready for prime time.”

ON ‘RED FLAG’ LAWS: 

“As one of the strongest defenders of our Second Amendment, (I) said we need to embrace common-sense legislation, which would be around red flag laws, which we have here in Indiana, that statistically across the six states that have them, it’s lowered deaths from a gun. If you are a big Second Amendment person, if we do nothing, I think that right to bear and keep arms could be diminished over time. This is simple. Have laws that keep guns out of the hands of the mentally ill and criminals. We can all agree on that.”

ON BALANCING THE BUDGET: 

“I do have a bill that might be a little better framework because it’s worked in other countries. It pegs spending statutorily as a percentage of our GDP (gross domestic product, the total value of goods and services in one year) to where you have got to figure out how you’re going to cap the spending at or under that. In a bad year when the economy is weak, you can spend up to it. It’s worked in other countries. Hopefully it might work here.”

On a stop during his Summer of Solutions Tour, Senator Braun spoke to Indianapolis’ WTHR on strengthening background checks to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and the dangerously mentally ill while protecting the constitutional right of law-abiding citizens to own and use firearms.

Before embarking on his 50-city tour of Indiana throughout the month of August, Senator Braun caught up with his hometown newspaper, the Dubois County Herald, to update Hoosiers on the work he’s done to shake up Washington with real world solutions in the first seven months in the Senate.

“Addressing the rising cost of prescription drugs, combating the opioid crisis, promoting post-secondary education options other than four-year schools, reining in federal spending and calling on Congress to approve Trump’s United-States-Mexico-Canada agreement are all issues that are important to him.

“He’s thankful that he’s been given a platform to address them.

“’I’m blessed and honored to be the U.S. Senator, and will draw on my Main Street experience that’s been based upon hard work, experience and practical solutions,’ Braun said. ‘Commonsense stuff. We need more of that in D.C.'”

While talking to Hoosier workers in Fort Wayne on his August tour, Fort Wayne’s NBC spoke to Senator Braun and Indiana State Police Sgt. Brian Walker about red flags laws, which Indiana has led the way on.

“It’s not big government coming in and taking people’s weapons without just cause, and we also have to answer for our actions. If they’re going to apply for a warrant to have these weapons confiscated, that has to be written down and justified in an affidavit,” [Indiana State Police Sgt. Brian Walker] Walker says.

“Any legislator that doesn’t view it as a serious issue, and especially from ones that come from Second Amendment states, ones that believe deeply in the right to bear and keep arms, I think it hurts that right down the road if we don’t take practical measures to control unnecessary deaths from firearms,” [Senator Braun] says.

Senator Braun sat down with South Bend’s WNDU in Warsaw while visiting local businesses to talk about the economy with Hoosier workers, discussing background checks and red flag laws and Congress’s inaction on the national debt, including his decision to vote against the budget-busting debt deal last month.

“We’ve got difficulties where we’re going to deplete the Medicare and Social Security trust funds, the Medicare in 2026. Increasingly, our budget is mandatory spending where you can’t even look on it. It’s on autopilot, and that’s not going to end well. And the fact that we’ve had historically low interest rates, we’ve not really paid a price for it,” Braun said. “… We’re still considered the only reserve currency across the world. That’s enabled us to borrow money at historically low rates, and just because that’s the case doesn’t mean you should keep doing it.”

For a deeper look at Senator Braun’s reaction to last weekend’s mass shootings in El Paso, TX and Dayton, OH, read Brian Fransisco’s coverage in the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette.

“’The Democrats again want to get rid of weapons generally as their prescription. How’s that worked in Chicago? How’s that worked in Baltimore,’ [Braun] said about cities where shooting deaths have surged in recent years.”

Breitbart News‘ Sean Moran reported this week on President Trump’s announcement of further healthcare proposals coming from the GOP this September, with Senator Braun’s work on lowering healthcare prices singled out as leading the way.

“Braun shared with Breitbart News the argument that ‘Republicans need to force’ change in the healthcare industry. Braun said that if the industry does not change itself, Medicare for All will win.”

For live updates from Indiana on Senator Braun’s Summer of Solutions Tour, follow him on Facebook and Twitter and Instagram.

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