Meet the Press interviews during 2015: on Gun Control

John Kasich: Registering mentally ill is first priority in gun control

KASICH: I've never heard it until right now. I have a lot of respect for Bill Bratton, but I will also tell you that Americans want to defend themselves. And that what we really need to focus on firearms right now is making sure that states use their databases to upload the people who have mental illnesses. And if we want to examine people who are on terrorist watch lists and not let them buy a gun, it's something that ought to be considered. It's the first I've ever heard of it.

Ben Carson: No limits to gun ownership, except in cases of insanity

CARSON: Well, my point being we should never compromise the Second Amendment. Of course, we should be thinking about what we can do to keep dangerous weapons out of the hands of mentally unstable people. The two things are not incompatible.

Q: So you're not saying there should be a limitation on what type of weapon a sane person should be able to buy?

CARSON: Of course not. You know, when we put this amendment in place, you know, state-of-the-art weapon was what? A musket? But the principle was that the citizenry should have access to whatever they needed in order to protect themselves from an overly aggressive government.

Bernie Sanders: Common sense, incremental gun control plan

SANDERS: I wouldn't use the word, "moderation." That's not quite the right word. This is what I do believe. I come from a state that has virtually no gun control. And yet, at political peril, I voted for an instant background check, which I want to see strengthened and expanded. I voted to ban certain types of assault weapons, which are designed only to kill people. I voted to end the so-called gun show loophole. What I think there needs to be is a dialogue. And here's what I do believe: I believe what I call common sense gun reform. Plus, a revolution in mental health, making sure that if people are having a nervous breakdown, or are suicidal, or homicidal, they get the care they need when they need it. I think the vast majority of the American people can support and agenda composed of those features.

Donald Trump: Mental health more important than gun control

Q: What's your explanation?

TRUMP: They're just sick people. They are mentally imbalanced.

Q: Do you think we have more mentally ill people than other countries?

TRUMP: I think what we have is I think we have copycats. I think they watch it and they see it here maybe more than other places.

Donald Trump: Laws are ineffective in preventing gun violence

TRUMP: The way I look at it, you take Chicago, you take Baltimore, you take various other places where you have tremendous gun violence and death, right? The strictest laws in the United States-- in the world-- for guns happens to be Chicago where they have a lot of problems. Baltimore, a lot of the places where you have the biggest problem is where they have the strongest laws. So I don't think it's about laws.

Q: But local laws without a national floor are pointless.

TRUMP: It really is mental health problem.

Q: You don't believe that we have too many guns?

TRUMP: Well, for example, the school at which the last mass shooting occurred was a gun-free zone and you were not allowed to have guns there. You could make the case that it would have been a lot better had people had guns because they could fire back.

Bernie Sanders: Instant background checks: no guns for criminals or unstable

SANDERS: As a nation, we can't continue screaming at each other; we've got to find common ground.

Q: Well, what is that?

SANDERS: For a start, universal instant background checks. Nobody should have a gun who has a criminal background, who's involved in domestic abuse situations, people should not have guns who are going to hurt other people, who are unstable.

Q: In the situation in Louisiana, instant background checks didn't catch what was necessary. Instant background checks lead to more speed & more mistakes. Don't you need longer waiting periods?

SANDERS: Well, what we need to do is, whatever we need, is a system that works. Bottom line is, I hope that nobody in America disagrees that people, as in the case of the shooter in Louisiana, who has a history of mental instability, should not be having guns. People who have criminal backgrounds, people who are abusing wives, should not be having guns. That is the issue that I think we can bring people around