New York Congressman Tom Reed is calling for mental health legislation as means to prevent mass shootings in the U-S.
During his weekly media conference call, Reed told reporters those pushing gun control are missing the real issue.
"I think the more we can raise the issue of mental health and make it a priority, where we can come together and say we're going to address mental health in America, as we do every other crisis medical condition that is out there, and treat it like a medical condition, and get the individuals that are suffering from that illness the help and assistance they need in order to get that illness under control, then we start moving the needle," says Reed.
Reed contends the common denominator behind every mass shooting is a mental health issue. His comments follow last week's incident at community college in Oregon in which a gunman killed nine people.