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Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said he had “become friends with school shooters” in Tuesday night’s vice-presidential debate when CBS moderators pressed the candidates with a left-wing question on how to curb “gun violence.”

“Governor, you previously opposed an assault weapons ban, but only later in your political career did you change your position,” said Norah O’Donnell. “Why?”

“Yeah, I sat in that office with those Sandy Hook parents,” Walz said, in reference to families of the more than 20 Connecticut children killed by a deranged gunman in 2012.

“I’ve become friends with school shooters,” Walz added. “I’ve seen it.”

Walz suggested people who respond to major shootings by highlighting the shooter’s mental disturbance are “stigmatizing mental health.”

“Just because you have a mental health issue, doesn’t mean you’re violent,” Walz said before claiming that “[s]ometimes it just is the guns. It’s just the guns.”

Vance pointed out the high rates of substance abuse, depression, and anxiety in the United States, culminating in “a mental health crisis in this country.”

“I don’t think it’s the whole reason why we have such a bad gun violence problem, but I do think it’s a big piece of it.”

[RELATED: Behind Tim Walz’s ‘Hunter’ Facade Is A Plan To Take Your Guns]

Tristan Justice is the western correspondent for The Federalist and the author of Social Justice Redux, a conservative newsletter on culture, health, and wellness. He has also written for The Washington Examiner and The Daily Signal. His work has also been featured in Real Clear Politics and Fox News. Tristan graduated from George Washington University where he majored in political science and minored in journalism. Follow him on Twitter at @JusticeTristan or contact him at Tristan@thefederalist.com. Sign up for Tristan’s email newsletter here.