Condemning the senseless rampage and mass shooting that took place in Isla Vista, California, on Friday, May 23, 2014.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise in support of H. Res. 608, introduced by Congresswoman Lois Capps, which is a bipartisan resolution to offer condolences to the Isla Vista and University of California, Santa Barbara communities, to mourn the victims and offer support to their families.

It condemns the senseless rampage and urges a dialogue on ``the Nation's mental health care system, anger, firearms laws, harmful attitudes towards women.''

The resolution honors law enforcement and emergency personnel for their response to the attack and continues the commitment of ``working to help prevent tragedies like this from happening again.''

The rampage and mass shooting that left six UC Santa Barbara students dead and 13 others injured in Isla Vista on May 23 was perpetrated by a deeply troubled man, with violent tendencies, who planned for months to kill as many as he could before the tragic day unfolded.

Despite warnings from his parents to police and a subsequent law enforcement check a few weeks before the murders, Elliot Rodger was able to cleverly ward off police by passing off the warnings as a ``misunderstanding.''

Police said, later, that Rodger did not meet the criteria for an involuntary hold. He legally purchased more than 400 rounds of ammunition and three semiautomatic pistols over the course of months before his rampage.

In the months leading up to the shooting, Elliot Rodger posted numerous videos and comments on social media sites detailing his frustrations with women and his hatred of them.

He made such comments as:

My orchestration of the day of retribution is my attempt to

do everything in my power to destroy everything I cannot

have. All of those beautiful girls I've desired so much in my

life, but can never have because they despise and loathe me,

I will destroy.

He said he would also eliminate the men who had better luck with women than he did.

Rodger, distressingly, joins a long list of mass killers that have haunted this country in recent years at grim scenes, including Sandy Hook, Virginia Tech, Aurora, Tucson, a Walmart in Las Vegas, and now in Oregon, just minutes ago.

Rodger shares three common denominators with these other mass murderers: easy access to guns, a history of mental illness, and clear warning signs that he wanted to carry out violent acts. Together, the five lone killers left a staggering 82 people dead and 114 others injured and scarred.

The Sandy Hook killer had serious mental health issues. The man who shot Representative Gabby Giffords had dropped out of school after his college required a mental health evaluation.

The Virginia Tech killer had been investigated by the university for stalking and had been declared mentally ill by a Virginia special justice. The Isla Vista shooter also had a long history of mental illness.

What it is going to take, colleagues?

Like many other mass shooters, he showed clear signs that he was extremely dangerous and planned to kill, but these five massacres are only a fraction of the mass shootings Americans have endured in a short span.

Between January 2009 and September 2013, there were 93 mass shootings--almost two per month--that occurred in 35 States, in a nearly 5-year period.

Is the problem too many guns? Is it mental health? Is it guns in the wrong hands?

The answer to all these questions is yes. We know what needs to be done. We may not agree on every solution to reduce gun violence, but Americans, outraged by our inability to get anything done on this issue, are waiting for us to come to our senses and to act.

The threshold for taking someone against their will for psychiatric evaluation needs to be reviewed. Police need better mental health training. It must become easier to intervene when there are risks.

The prevailing majority of individuals with a mental health problem aren't violent, but we should have the tools to respond to the smaller number who show clear violent tendencies and evidence that they are preparing to act on it.

Richard Martinez, the father of slain 20-year-old Christopher Michaels-Martinez, tearfully pleaded for people to

stop feeling sorry for him after the massacre. His words ring in my ear all the time:

I don't care about your sympathy. I'm going to ask every

person I can find to send a postcard to every politician they

think of with 3 words on it: not one more.

People are looking for something to do. I'm asking people

to stand up for something. Enough is enough.

One more mass killing is too many, and Congress is culpable for not taking action. We say never again, but it sounds like an empty promise because we do nothing.

I thank Congresswoman Capps for offering this thoughtful and important resolution. We need to do so much more, and her bringing this resolution to our attention gives us the opportunity to draw together and, hopefully, to come up with something to do.

With that, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague and friend, Mrs. Capps, for her strong message.

I yield 5 minutes to my good friend and colleague from California (Mr. Honda).

Mr. Speaker, I, too, have no further speakers, and I am prepared to close.

I would hate to think that we will have one of these resolutions on the House floor week after week because we choose to do nothing. There are 32 people who will die today due to gunshot wounds, and there are 32 who will die tomorrow and 32 the next day. We seem to somehow be inured to what is going on around us. Let us respect those who have died and those who have been injured, and let us take steps to do something this year.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 608) condemning the senseless rampage and mass shooting that took place in Isla Vista, California, on Friday, May 23, 2014, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

As many of us know, on May 23, 2014, a mass shooting took place in Isla Vista, California, a community adjacent to the University of California, Santa Barbara campus.

The people of the United States will continue to mourn the loss of six innocent victims and students of the University of California, Santa Barbara. Each of these students excelled in school and were looking forward to bright futures.

We will continue to remember the victims: George Chen, 19; Katherine Breann Cooper, 22; Cheng ``James'' Yuan Hong, 20; Christopher Ross Michaels-Martinez, 20; Weihan ``David'' Wang, 20; and Veronika Weiss, 19.

Americans everywhere continue to extend their support and sympathy to the victims, their families, and loved ones, and we wish each of the 13 people injured in the shooting a full and speedy recovery.

I would also like to commend the law enforcement officers and other first responders for their courage, bravery, and dedication to service. Their efforts helped to prevent further fatalities and injuries, and we remain extremely grateful to each of them.

I urge support of this measure, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, at this time, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlelady from California (Mrs. Capps), my colleague and the author of the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and subject to close, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

The mentally ill have for too long been able to get guns. Individuals who have been seen and exposed as being violent or incarcerated for their mental illnesses have too often become their own victims because we haven't paid enough attention to their possession of deadly weapons. This case is different than some because this violent individual also used knives.

No matter what, I join on a bipartisan basis, urging that, as we look at a national mental health policy, we include the recognition that it is in other people's best interests. Of course, there are victims of these crimes, but too often, the mentally ill kill themselves with a gun. The mentally ill take their lives. As we look at a terrible tragedy of murder, let's bear in mind that the real reform that we have to get to the root of is that of dealing with the mentally ill better in this country, dealing with the need to take weapons out of their hands and also the need to provide them real opportunity for care.

A number of Members of Congress have pieces of legislation that deal with mental health, and although there has been much discussion about gun control, this was really a mental health control question before it was a gun control question.

I urge the passage by all of our Members of this balanced bill that was authored by my friend, the gentlelady from Santa Barbara (Mrs. Capps), because it does speak to both problems: the gun problem, of course--the murder of innocent people--but also the mental health question.

I yield back the balance of my time.

I thank my colleague for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this resolution to remember those who lost their lives and to recognize those who were injured on May 23 in my district in California. The rampage and mass shooting in Isla Vista rocked this small beachside community.

Again, we mourn those lost--George Chen, ``James'' Yuan Hong, Weihan ``David'' Wang, Katherine Breann Cooper, Christopher Ross Michaels- Martinez, and Veronika Weiss--and we support the injured as they heal.

Our community grieves, but Isla Vista is a special place and one that has come together since the tragedy to emerge stronger. We can learn from their strength.

Unfortunately, Isla Vista joins a long list of those who have grieved because of mass shootings. Even in the 18 days since this incident, more communities have joined the list of those who mourn: Seattle, Chicago, Norfolk, and Las Vegas.

As the father of one of the victims implored:

Enough is enough. Not one more.

That is on my wristband. We must not let the attention fade. We must not let the drumbeat fall silent. Congress has the power to act, and we must.

The rampage and shooting that rocked my hometown was, sadly, just one of many incidents that occur across the Nation.

It is wrong to think we can do nothing to stop this carnage. It is factually wrong, and it is morally wrong. It is simply not a reflection of who we are--who Americans are--as a people.

Americans do not simply give up on hard problems. We work together to find consensus, even though these are thorny, difficult issues.

Greater gun safety and the Second Amendment are not mutually exclusive. Law-abiding, responsible Americans have the right to own guns; but each of us should also feel safe in our homes, in our parks, and in our communities.

The Isla Vista tragedy has shown us that, when warning signs of violence are seen, we must act, but our communities need the tools to do so. While we may never be able to prevent each and every single violent act, it doesn't mean we should do nothing. Our communities demand that we try.

I share with you my constituent's heartbreaking questions:

They talk about gun rights. What about Chris' right to

live?

So I join the chorus of those who are so rightly frustrated with the status quo and with this Congress. They have said to our Congress: not one more.

Today's resolution is an important step in that direction. We must condemn the violence. We must remember the victims. We must support the living.

On behalf of my community, thank you, my colleagues and the communities that you represent, for your prayers. Thank you for your support during this difficult time. It means a great deal to all of us on the central coast of California, but let this not be the end of the conversation.

I am looking forward to working with each of you to do all we can so that there is not one more. We can act, and we must.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to associate myself with the words that have been expressed this afternoon.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today with great sadness. My heart goes out to the families and friends of all the victims killed in the tragic events of May 23 in Isla Vista, California.

Three of the victims were from my California Congressional District 17. I want to express my deepest condolences to the families of Cheng ``James'' Yuan Hong, George Chen, and Weihan ``David'' Wang. The lives of these young men were cut short in the senseless tragedy that happened this past Memorial Day weekend.

``James'' Hong and George Chen--from San Jose--and ``David'' Wang-- from Fremont--were all from immigrant Chinese families. They were all studying engineering at UC Santa Barbara. I ask everyone to please keep in your thoughts and prayers these young men and their families.

As we struggle to make sense of what happened, we must seriously examine our gun laws and ask why people who are mentally disturbed can continue to possess and obtain firearms.

These acts of violence cannot be allowed to continue. How many more tragedies must our Nation suffer before Congress acts?

We in Congress promised our Nation we would do better after the shootings at Sandy Hook, but we have not made good on that promise.

Instead, the shootings have continued. Just since the Isla Vista killings on May 23, there have been two more mass shootings.

I am outraged that we have not done more to protect the public from gun violence. Congress has failed to act. Congress has failed the American people. It is up to us to pass comprehensive, commonsense gun laws to prevent these tragic deaths from occurring.

The brutal violence exacted on the victims in Isla Vista, California, was horrific. What was particularly horrific was the nature in which those three young men were killed. They were stabbed to death before the perpetrator went on a shooting spree that claimed the lives of more victims.

We will always remember those who are no longer with us, but we must also honor them. We must enact real change to our gun laws to protect not only the young people but all of our citizens. It is our moral obligation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of my colleague from Santa Barbara and of this resolution.

My heart goes out to the community of Isla Vista, the victims and their families.

As a father and grandfather, my heart breaks for the families of the young lives that ended too soon: Christopher Michaels-Martinez, Veronika Weiss, Katie Cooper, Cheng-Yuan Hong, George Chen, Weihan Wang.

And I am angry that we're in this situation yet again.

Mr. Speaker, this resolution states that the House of Representatives remains committed to working to help prevent tragedies like this from happening ever again.

Some may say that today is not the day to talk about guns, or violence.

Others may say that weapons are not the problem, and we should focus our efforts on mental health care.

I say we need to talk about both. The shooter was a mentally ill young man who had better access to firearms than he did sufficient mental health care.

We also need to talk about misogyny and its impact on domestic violence.

These are hard conversations, with no easy answers. But we owe it to the victims and their families of this and other tragedies to have these important conversations.

We must speak on behalf of those who can no longer speak. We must not be afraid to take action.