Rep. Michael McCaul, Texas Republican and chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said Friday there needs to be an emphasis on mental health, and not new gun laws, in the wake of Thursday’s shooting at a community college in Oregon.
“No gun law probably could have stopped this case. Tell me what law could have been passed to have stopped this case,” Mr. McCaul said on CNN’s “New Day.”
A gunman, identified as Chris Harper Mercer, shot and killed nine other people and wounded seven others Thursday at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon.
“I don’t know if it’s necessarily that we need more laws. … We need to treat mental illness, and if someone is mentally ill, those signs should come up with family, friends and the gun dealer,” Mr. McCaul said.
“If somebody is … a little bit off and maybe they’re changing or radicalizing as a terrorist, those signs are sometimes hard to spot. You’re talking about a Second Amendment right under the Constitution as well, and so to deny that right just on a hunch raises all sorts of legal questions as well,” he said.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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