Fox News Contributor Says It's Time to Do Something About Guns

Fox News contributor Ted Williams says that America needs to "do something" to combat gun violence after another mass shooting left six people dead at a bank in Kentucky.

Williams, a former Washington, D.C., homicide detective, told host Neil Cavuto on Monday that he was "sick and tired" of delivering on-air commentary in the wake of mass shootings. Williams suggested that taking the same approach to gun violence was equivalent to "insanity" before advocating for a strengthening of national gun laws.

"We need to again look at what is going on in our society," said Williams. "You know, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results."

Williams pointed out that Louisville gunman Connor Sturgeon and Audrey Hale, the shooter in the recent Covenant School killings in Nashville, Tennessee, were both found to be using AR-15 rifles. He argued that freely available assault-style rifles and potential mental illness was "a dangerous concoction" that may be facilitating the shootings.

"We've got to do something in this society," Williams said. "We have to talk about guns. AR-15s are killing our babies and our citizens in this country. And we've got to do something about it."

Williams went on to advocate for the passage of "red flag" laws, which enable authorities to temporarily remove firearms from people who they believe are a danger to themselves and others.

"We do need red flag laws in this country," he said. "We do need families who know that their loved one may very well be mentally ill, we need them to be able to speak up. If they see something, say something ... we have to help law enforcement to help individuals who are mentally ill."

It is not clear if mental illness played a role in the Louisville shooting. Police have not released a potential motive.

Shortly before Williams argued in favor of tackling gun violence, another Fox News contributor appeared on the conservative-leaning network, saying that he hoped the latest mass shooting would not lead lawmakers to "dwell on" firearms.

"Our prayers go to the victims and their families," former assistant FBI director Chris Swecker said. "It'll inevitably trigger discussions about the firearms and that sort of thing. I hope that the politicians and so-called leaders don't dwell on that right now."

As of Monday, there have been 146 mass shootings recorded in the U.S. this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive. The nonprofit group says there have been more than 11,500 gun-related deaths overall this year.

Newsweek has reached out via email to Fox News for comment.