6 highlights from the second Republican presidential debate

By Ryan Foley, Christian Post Reporter Thursday, September 28, 2023

Nikolas Cruz (C) appears via video monitor with Melisa McNeill (R), his public defender, at a bond court hearing after being charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on February 15, 2018. | (Photo: REUTERS/Susan Stocker/Pool)

Pence calls for death penalty for mass shooters

As the focus of the debate turned to the prevalence of mass shootings in the U.S., Pence proclaimed, "I am sick and tired of these mass shootings happening in the United States of America."

"If I'm President of the United States, I'm going to go to the Congress of the United States, and we're going to pass a federal expedited death penalty for anyone involved in a mass shooting so that they will meet their fate in months, not years," he vowed.

Turning to DeSantis, Pence remarked, "It is unconscionable that the Parkland shooter, Ron, is actually going to spend the rest of his life behind bars in Florida." Pence was referring to Nikolas Cruz, who carried out a mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, in 2018 that killed more than a dozen people.

Maintaining that the sentence received by Cruz was "not justice," Pence stated, "We have to mete out justice and send a message to these would-be killers that you are not going to live out your days behind bars, you're going to mete justice in this system."