Haley calls for mental health reform after Iowa shooting: 'Why don't we do the hard work?'

Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley on Thursday declined to back gun restrictions in the wake of a shooting in Iowa, insisting that the United States ought to prioritize addressing the ongoing mental health crisis to reduce shootings.

"We could go and take away a certain kind of gun today and that would make you feel better today. But a week from now, there'd be another shooting," Haley said. "That's the reality of it. So, in a time where we're seeing a lot of lawlessness on our streets and in our cities, we can't go and take away people's rights to protect themselves and protect their families."

"Instead, why don't we do the hard work and deal with the mental health?" she asked. "If we start to do that, I know that we'll see a reduction in what's happening but you don't take away from good people because you see something like this happening form other people two commit crimes."

Haley made the remarks during a CNN town hall event in Iowa, just weeks ahead of the Iowa Caucus, the first nominating contest in the Republican primary. Haley currently stands in second with 11.0% support in the RealClearPolitics polling average, edging out Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis, who boasts 10.9% support. Former President Donald Trump currently stands as the clear frontrunner with 62.7%.

In Iowa, Trump leads with 51.3%, while DeSantis places second with 18.6%, and Haley places third with 16.1% in the same metric.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter.