U.S. Rep. Tom Reed told reporters Tuesday he was committed to doing whatever he can to prevent another school mass killing like what occurred last week at Parkland, Fla.
Reed, R-Corning, said “inaction in Congress is an inappropriate response” to the latest school shooting. He said he could support more thorough background checks and stepped-up efforts to detain violent mentally ill individuals, but his Second Amendment concerns would keep him from voting for a ban on certain types of weapons like the AR-15 semi automatic rifle that was used at Marjory Stoneman Douglas School.
“I stand firm on the Second Amendment. I don’t think an assault weapons ban would get the necessary support to get to the finish line,” Reed told reporters during his weekly media call. “I’m looking at the perpetrator.”
Reed said Congress should “make sure the background check system is working.”
In addition, Reed said, “We need to do what is necessary to keep them (mentally ill individuals) from hurting us. We need to do it in a way that respects our Constitution and respects our freedom.”
Reed said the background of the Parkland shooter should have been enough for mental health and law enforcement officials to remove this individual from society. The officials “should have had the ability to remove him from society.”
Reed acknowledged little has changed since 20 students and staff at Sandy Hook Elementary School, Newtown, Conn., five years ago. “We need to take action in Congress,” he said. “I hope we do.”
He added that he favored certain background check reforms over banning certain weapons. “I’m afraid the knee-jerk reaction of banning certain items would pacify, but not solve the problem.”
There are civil liberties concerns with some of the proposed mental health remedies, but “doing nothing, to me, is inappropriate,” Reed said.
Members of the House Problem Solvers Caucus spoke by telephone over the weekend, Reed said. He is co-chairman of the bipartisan group that consists of 24 Republicans and 24 Democrats.
Reed said members were seeking a series of actions that 75 percent of the members could support. He said he was optimistic over members’ desire to get something done in the wake of the most recent school shooting.
“Hopefully, we will be able to influence this to a successful solution that can get signed into law,” he said.
Reed said he would like to have students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas School who have been so vocal in recent days about the need for stricter gun control laws, speak to the Problem Solvers Caucus. They are planning a series of marches on March 24 including one on Washington, D.C.
“I applaud their efforts,” Reed said. “I’d love to have a real conversation with them.”
President Donald Trump has also said he would like to speak further to Florida students. Trump announced Tuesday he signed a memo directing the Justice Department to propose regulations to “ban all devices” like the rapid-fire bump stocks involved in last year’s Las Vegas mass shooting that resulted in 58 deaths.
But Reed said the focus should stay on keeping guns away from criminals and the mentally ill, adding an assault weapons ban was “a slippery slope.”
“Where do you stop?” he said.
When asked about his support from the National Rifle Association, Reed said, “We do have support from folks who stand with us on the Second Amendment.”
In response to a reporter’s question, Reed said he is a cosponsor along with Rep. Chris Collins of Erie County of a House bill that, if passed and signed by the president, would repeal the New York SAFE Act.
