Collins Statement on Firearm Violence Hearing

WASHINGTON — Ranking Member Doug Collins (R-Ga.) made the following statement at today's House Judiciary Committee hearing on firearm violence. Below are the remarks as prepared: Ranking Member Doug Collins: Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for holding today’s hearing on gun violence in America. Any form of violence, with or without the use of a firearm, is reason for concern, and it’s our job to offer real solutions for the families affected by criminal violence. It’s good and right to reflect today on the victims and their stories. What do their experiences have in common, and how can lawmakers respond to the factors fueling violent crime? America has witnessed too many events of mass violence in recent years, yet the common factors here aren’t related to background checks for private sales. Over and over again, we see the challenges here are how to diagnose and treat mental illness, how to improve law enforcement coordination and how to navigate a culture that’s desensitized to violence. These problems are serious, and they’re not simple. Evidence has shown us H.R. 8 and similar gun control measures wouldn’t have prevented Columbine or San Bernardino or Charleston or similar tragedies. H.R. 8 actually indicates our problem today is we’re far too unmoved by the realities of violence, victimization and murder. We’re far too comfortable offering bills that constrain law-abiding citizens without protecting them from the people who mean them great harm. We’re far too comfortable talking about tragedy without learning its clearest lesson: If we want to combat mass violence, we have to address the human factors actually driving it. This means we acknowledge attempts to criminalize the Second Amendment do nothing to address those complex factors and we turn our attention to solutions that would. One of my first acts in Congress was to ask President Obama why federal firearm prosecutions fell 35% under his administration while widespread violence continued to infect American communities. Chicago, for example, prosecuted only 25 federal firearm crimes in 2011 and then saw 506 murders in 2012. It seems clear if we’re going to be in the business of writing new laws to prevent violence, we should, at a minimum, commit to enforcing the laws we already have. The liberal penchant for expanding firearm restrictions but leaving dangerous criminal behavior unpunished has helped make some American cities into tapestries of violence—into places where it’s illegal for victims to protect themselves from violent people. Next door to Washington, Maryland illustrates how miserably gun control fails to prevent violence. Maryland requires universal background checks, bans assault weapons, restricts magazine capacity and requires permits to purchase handguns, which then must be registered with the state. These restrictions make up the wish list of what gun control advocates want to see nationwide. If Baltimore were a shining star of public safety, we might understand why. Baltimore, though, consistently ranks among the top five cities for gun violence nationwide. Chicago also boasts some of the most restrictive firearms laws in the country, yet it represents one of the top 10 cities for gun violence. Again, I implore my colleagues across the aisle to look at our cities and our schools and to respond in a meaningful way. We best honor victims of violence by looking at the evidence. Neither H.R. 8, nor any of their proposed gun control measures, would have prevented a single mass shooting of the last 20 years. When we point to stories of tragedy without learning from them, we exploit their victims, Mr. Chairman. In 1999, Columbine High School destroyed families in Colorado and broke hearts across the country. The FBI concluded one of the two murderers was a clinical psychopath and the other was depressive. In the weeks and months before the ambush, one murderer made numerous violent threats against his classmates and teachers. Law enforcement knew about these threats, but failed to intercede prior to the shootings. After the Virginia Tech shootings, we learned the murderer had been involuntarily committed to outpatient mental health services. That information should have been uploaded into the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), but it was not. Had the information been properly uploaded, existing background check laws would have prevented the shooter from purchasing firearms. In the 2012 Aurora, Colorado movie theater shootings, the murderer himself had told mental health professionals he had homicidal thoughts. One reported it to law enforcement. A month prior to the Navy Yard shootings just a few blocks away from this room, the murderer filed a police report claiming he heard voices in his head. Almost a decade before the massacre, he was arrested for shooting out the tires of another man’s vehicle. He was not prosecuted for that crime. A year ago this month, students in Parkland, Florida fell victim to a shooter whom law enforcement and school counselors had recommended for a mental health evaluation in 2016. According to CNN, law enforcement received at least 45 calls about the shooter or his family. Among these calls was an anonymous tip that the shooter had threatened to attack his school. This and other significant information was not forwarded to the FBI’s Miami Field Office or local law enforcement for further action. If we let these tragedies teach us, we see that we need to focus on mental illness and missed opportunities. While we’re careful to understand by no means are all those who suffer from mental illness violent, we can increase public safety by improving our approach to mental health. We also have the opportunity to help law enforcement respond better to potential incidents of mass violence. Rather than new laws that suffocate the Second Amendment, we need better enforcement of current laws and better coordination among law enforcement resources. Republicans have led in these efforts, and we stand ready today to work with our Democratic friends on solutions that will save lives. In just the last two years, a Republican Congress sent the Comprehensive Justice and Mental Health Act to President Obama’s desk to help local law enforcement better navigate the intersection of crime and mental illness. Last Congress, Republicans passed the FIX NICS Act to correct weaknesses in the background check system and the STOP School Violence Act to prevent school violence at multiple levels. I believe we can work together to develop solutions to actually curb violence. Like many people in this room, Mr. Chairman, I’m a parent, and so I’m sad to acknowledge that measures like H.R. 8 handicap law-abiding citizens instead of protecting them from people who are evil or ill. I hope we can agree it’s foolish and dangerous to pursue bills that are impotent to help people and may, in fact, hurt them by diverting our attention from opportunities to make progress by fighting the issues at the heart of firearm violence. I want to conclude by thanking our witnesses for coming here today, particularly those who have either witnessed or suffered personally from violence. I want to commend you for your courage and for sharing your experiences with us.