by , @Joe_Gerth –

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(Photo: J. Scott Applewhite/AP)

All but one Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate on Monday endorsed what some of them characterized has “common sense” gun laws during a debate on Kentucky Educational Television Monday night..

Ron Leach, a former Army Green Beret, said he favors “pragmatic, reasonable steps” to deal with gun violence, including requiring safety locks to keep guns out of the hands of children. But he called for a broader discussion of the gun issue.

The debate was done as part of KET’s Kentucky Tonight television series and the gun discussion came as the result of a viewer’s question. The six candidates are vying in next week’s primary for the right to face U.S. Sen Rand Paul in November.

Noting there are more than 30,000 gun deaths a year, Leach said if something else caused that many deaths “we would bring all resources to say, ‘How can we mitigate this, how can we reduce this?’ But we can’t do this with gun violence because it’s become so polarized. …

“The fact that the (Centers for Disease Control is by law restricted from either gathering data or making recommendations on gun violence and gun deaths in this country is an issue,” Leach said.

Lexington Mayor Jim Gray also called for Congress to deal with gun violence, saying that the fact that it hasn’t indicates that Washington is broken.

He noted that many grew up in Kentucky with hunting weapons but added that, “Over time, we know that things are changing and today, we need to look carefully at these issues and not just abandon common sense. This is where common sense needs to come to the table.”

He called for background checks for gun purchases, which are already required in most cases. But many have criticized existing law because there are loopholes that allow private sales without those checks.

And Former Frankfort City Councilman Sellus Wilder said he favors measures that would prevent accidental shootings.

“I would like to think we could find some common ground with our friends on the other side of the aisle and actually get something like that passed,” he said. “It doesn’t strike me as an overreach, nor inconsistent with the 2nd Amendment.

Tom Recktenwald also said he favors a law to reduce accidental shootings and Rory Houlihan suggested that those who oppose any restrictions on guns are making it easier for criminals and terrorists to get weapons.

The only candidate to flatly reject any new gun laws was Jeff Kender, an Eastern Kentucky steelworker, who advised that his opponents were making a political mistake.

“It’s going to be a losing issue against (U.S. Sen.) Rand Paul,” Kender said. “He’s gonna thump their heads with it.”

In fact, Paul used the issue to tie his potential opponents to President Barack Obama.

“Since arriving in the United States Senate, Sen. Rand Paul has been a staunch defender of the 2nd Amendment and will oppose any encroachment by the likes of President Obama or Mrs. Clinton on Kentuckians’ right to bear arms,” Paul’s spokeswoman, Kelsey Cooper, said in a statement.

Reporter Joseph Gerth can be reached at (502) 582-4702. His email address is [email protected].