Ohio's Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown says he will continue to hold town hall meetings and interact with constituents, in spite of the attempted assassination of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords that left her critically wounded and six people dead.

Brown would not discuss specific security issues or measures, heeding the advice of Capitol Hill police.

"I'll continue to be open. I'll continue to do public events," he said

He said he is most concerned with protecting staff members and disclosed that his first town hall meeting on health care in Cincinnati last year had "enhanced" security measures.

He made the remarks in a wide-ranging interview with Channel 3's Tom Beres.

Senator Brown hopes the warning signs ignored about the shooter, Jared Lee Loughner, result in a tightening of the mental health safety net.

"Almost every family has mental illness in the family at various levels. ... We should never demonize mental illness. ... This is mostly done by the states. ... I want to make sure the mental health safety net is better in place than it's been in most states," he said.

Senator Brown pledged to reintroduce a bus safety measure he introduced years ago, in the wake of the bus crash that killed members of the Bluffton College baseball team.

Circumstances of the latest accident that killed the trainer of the Mt. Union wrestling team have not been disclosed.

But Brown said safety measures, including bus seat belts, stronger support for bus roofs and more training for drivers, are common sense steps that should be taken.

Brown claimed the bill would have passed with bipartisan support except for one senator who represents a large bus manufacturing company who was blocking it.

"There will be widespread support. People hear about these accidents. It's happened in enough states that enough congressmen and senators are very aware of families they represent who have suffered losing family members," he said.

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