Political Quotes

“I thank the chairman for yielding. Madam Speaker, I rise today to express my strong support for H.R. 2377, the Federal Extreme Risk Protection Order Act. Included in this legislation, is the Extreme Risk Protection Order Act, which I have been proud to co- lead for many years with my friend and colleague, Congressman Carbajal. Madam Speaker, April 16, 2007, 15 years ago, 32 Virginia Tech students, in my home and Commonwealth, were killed by a young man who was well-known to the community to have paranoid schizophrenia. He had been hospitalized. He had been picked up by the police. He had been banned from classes. There was every reason in the world for him to be on the background checklist. Yet, he was able to buy the weapons legally that killed those 32 kids. In 2014, I had a long conversation with a friend who was deeply depressed. He was having trouble getting out of bed, trouble finding a psychiatrist who would treat him. I made some calls to try to find somebody, and then didn't do anything but worry, and was stunned when he got out of bed to go buy a gun and kill himself. To this day, I so regret that I did not call his wife, and we went together to the court to get him on the background checklist. We have all lost too many friends. We all are grief-struck by the massacre of children. Red flag laws may not protect everyone, but it will save many lives and it is a start.”