Newly-elected Congressman Luke Messer doesn't want gun ban

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - One result of the Newtown massacre is a renewed debate in the U.S. over gun control and related issues. It's a debate that's headed for Congress. And it won't play out just in Congress.

For example, Governor-elect Mike Pence said in a statement Monday that he will order a "comprehensive evaluation of school security measures" here in Indiana after he takes office.

Congressman-elect Luke Messer, standing below a Shelbyville flag lowered to half staff because of the Newtown tragedy, expects action.

"I do think you will see the next Congress try to take some action here," says the man who will replace Pence as the 6th District representative.

But that action may not be the assault weapons ban that the president supports. It expired in 2004. Luke Messer says gun bans aren't the answer.

"History shows these kind of bans don't work," he said. "They take away a freedom from law abiding folks and they don't take guns away from those who end up being the eventual perpetrators."

And it may not be new regulations on gun sales with an emphasis on background checks sought by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Messer wants to see a new, comprehensive approach to dealing with mental illness, and he says another ban could help: a ban on violent video games.

"There's no virtue to the games," says Messer. "I think we maybe ought to look at what we can do to ban them."

He says those games often spur violence and have no positive effects.

Of course, Luke Messer is just one of the people in the Congress who will take part in this debate and we still don't have a starting point. A spokesman for the president said today that Barack Obama believes that gun violence is a complex problem requiring a complex solution. He will propose one.