Scott Jennings: ‘I Don’t Think it Happened Because of Guns ... The Mental Illness Was Encouraged’

GARDERE: “I’m praying for those families. But what are we going to do after the prayers? How are we going to come together as a society, as politicians, bipartisan action to be able to protect children? How long will we allow them to be collateral damage due to our ideological difference?”
PHILLIP: “Yeah. That’s a good question, Scott. What happens after? I mean, what should happen now to stop this from your perspective as a — as a Republican?”
JENNINGS: “Sure. Well, I think — I think the first question you have to ask is, why did it happen? I don’t think it happened because of guns. I think it happened because somebody who was clearly suffering from severe mental illness had — “
PHILLIP: “ — had access to weapons that would allow them to carry out a terrible shooting.”
JENNINGS: “Well, and — and the mental illness was encouraged. And — “
GARDERE: “But Scott, what about people who don’t have mental illness?”
JENNINGS: “I don’t think you could tip-toe around this issue. And when you look at the messages that were written, in some of the materials and on the weapons that we’ve seen, I mean, this person obviously was in a dark, dark place.”
GARDERE: “Obviously.”
JENNINGS: “Now, I want to know — “
GARDERE: “Obviously.”
JENNINGS: “I’m not sure the government is in that person’s life enough to know. But his parents are.”
GARDERE: “But what about — Scott, what about people who don’t have mental illness? We have a huge gun violence issue here in the United States. We lead in gun violence.”
JENNINGS: “But the issue today is quite obviously mental illness and — “
GARDERE: “If you take away the mental illness, they’d still use the guns.”
SELLERS: “The problem is that the — this issue can’t be isolated in the vacuum of today. And I think to your point — “
GARDERE: “I agree.”
SELLERS: “Mental illness is a cop-out for today.”