GOP primary challenger Joe Walsh says he 'a big gun guy' and that 'the numbers' on gun violence have been good the past few decades

AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File

In this Nov. 17, 2010 file photo, then-Rep.-elect Joe Walsh, R-Ill., speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington.

• Republican presidential candidate Joe Walsh lauded gun rights on Tuesday night at Business Insider's GOP debate, saying "I'm a big gun guy."
• "The numbers are all good" over the last four decades, Walsh said, referring to the amount of gun violence in America.
• Efforts to tighten gun laws, however, has gained traction with more Americans after a recent spate of mass shootings in Texas and Ohio over the summer.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Republican presidential candidate Joe Walsh lauded gun rights on Tuesday night at Business Insider's GOP debate, saying "I'm a big gun guy."

"The numbers are all good" from the past 30-40 years, Walsh said, referring to the amount of gun violence in America.

Read more: Here's the House gun control legislation Mitch McConnell refuses to take up in the Senate after the mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton

Efforts to tighten gun laws, however, have gained traction with broader swaths of Americans after a recent spate of mass shootings in Texas and Ohio over the summer. A recent PBS NewsHour, NPR, and Marist poll found more Americans back universal background checks and banning the sale of high-capacity magazines.

Walsh acknowledged that mass shootings have been a problem recently.

This post will be updated.