[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 6]
[House]
[Pages 8880-8881]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  PREVENTING FUTURE SHOOTING TRAGEDIES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Arizona (Mr. Barber) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BARBER. Mr. Speaker, tomorrow we observe the sixth-month 
anniversary of the senseless and tragic murders at Sandy Hook 
Elementary School. We will never forget what happened in Newtown, 
Connecticut, on December 14, 2012, just as we will never forget what 
happened in Tucson, in Oak Creek, Virginia Tech, Portland, Milwaukee, 
and Columbine. As we remember the precious lives lost, we must also 
renew our determination to work together to make sure that such a 
tragedy never happens again.
  As a survivor of the Tucson shooting that took place on January 8, 
2011, as a grandfather of children the same age as those who were 
slaughtered in Newtown, and as a Member of Congress, I am committed to 
taking the reasonable action to make sure that we prevent future deaths 
and injuries from such mass shootings.
  After the awful shooting and deaths in Newtown, the Sunday following 
I was reading the newspaper about the tragedy, and I saw a photograph 
of one of the children that was killed. As I looked at that photograph 
of this little 6-year-old girl, looking back at me from that page was 
my granddaughter that was the same age. I have to tell you that I 
sobbed, along with my wife. I think no grandparent and no parent in 
this country could have had any

[[Page 8881]]

other reaction. We must take action here to make sure these mass 
shootings never occur again.
  While there is no single answer to preventing mass shootings, we do 
know some things. We know, for example, that untreated or undiagnosed 
serious mental illness has been a factor in many of these tragedies. 
It's important to note as we say this that more than 95 percent of 
people with a mental illness never will commit a violent act. They are 
far more likely to be the victims of violence than the perpetrators.
  The young man who killed six people in Tucson and wounded 13 of us 
had displayed symptoms of mental illness for many, many months before 
the tragedy. He never received either a diagnosis or treatment. He 
ended up getting a diagnosis and treatment when he was in prison. I 
believe this and other such mass shootings could have been averted if 
the public was more aware of the indications of symptoms of mental 
illness and how to get help.
  We must do more to reduce the stigma surrounding mental illness. We 
must invest in the early identification of mental illness and treatment 
programs. Sixty percent of people living in this country with mental 
illness are not receiving the care they need. We must do better. It is 
clear that we must expand mental health services and awareness for 100 
percent of the individuals with mental illness in the country.
  That's one of the reasons I introduced the Mental Health First Aid 
Act earlier this year with strong bipartisan support. This legislation 
would provide training to help first responders, educators, students, 
and the general public identify and respond to signs of mental illness.
  This is just one of many actions we can take. You've heard of others 
from speakers before me today. There are many things we can and must 
do. Congress must act. I call on my colleagues on both sides of the 
aisle to stand with me and the families of Newtown and of Tucson and 
all the other places where there have been mass shooting tragedies in 
the last 2 years and take action. We must act. We must do it now. The 
families of Newtown, Oak Creek, Aurora, Tucson, and across this Nation, 
are waiting for our answer. Will we answer? I hope we will do it, and 
do it soon.

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