JD Vance calls school shootings 'fact of life' in wake of Georgia tragedy and demands more armed security

Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance called school shootings a "fact of life" during a rally in Phoenix in a callous display of disregard for the victims , their families and the students traumatized by the massacre .

Vance argued the US needs to ramp up security at schools to prevent shootings like the one in Georgia this week , which left four people dead . He presented the assertion like it was the only option in fighting gun violence in the US. "If these psychos are going to go after our kids we've got to be prepared for it," Vance said at a rally, on Thursday, in Phoenix.

"We don't have to like the reality that we live in, but it is the reality we live in. We've got to deal with it."

Judge says Georgia shooting suspect Colt Gray faces death penalty before U-turn in first court hearing

Georgia school shooter suspect Colt Gray, 14, 'never talked' and skipped class always

Trump's running mate was asked by a reporter what can lawmakers do to prevent school children. He said Democrats who advocate for tougher gun restrictions are wrong because that won't stop shootings. He argued there have been mass shootings in states with both lax and strict gun laws.

He said lawmakers in Congress have tried to allocate more funds for schools to bulk security, saying schools are easy targets for "psychos."

"I don't like that this is a fact of life," Vance said. "But if you are a psycho and you want to make headlines, you realize that our schools are soft targets. And we have got to bolster security at our schools. We've got to bolster security so if a psycho wants to walk through the front door and kill a bunch of children they're not able."

Many are weary about armed security at schools given the prevalence of police shootings, worrying the move may be an accident waiting to happen. Vance admitted that he isn't completely comfortable with the idea of his own children attending school in that atmosphere, "but that's increasingly the reality that we live in."

Click here to follow the Mirror US on Google News to stay up to date with all the latest news, sports and entertainment stories

He said the shooting was an "awful tragedy" and offered families in Winder, Georgia prayers and sympathy. Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris toured the scene of the bloody 2018 Parkland high school massacre earlier this year. She subsequently announced a program aimed at helping states with laws that give police the authority to confiscate guns from people deemed to be red flags.

The VP leads the new White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention and has supported both sides of the gun control argument—she believes the US should implement stronger gun laws like banning the sales of AR-15 and similar firearms while simultaneously advocating for tougher school security.

She said one change could be ensuring classroom doors don't lock from the outside as they did during the Parkland tragedy.