Frank Pallotta, candidate for US Congress in Congressional District 5 in New Jersey, blamed mental illness for America's mass shootings, in an interview on Tuesday 31 May.

He made the comments in Fair Lawn, New Jersey, when he was asked for his view on whether there should be an assault weapons ban.

"I think it's been clear with every mass shooting over the last decade and then some, that this is an issue around mental illness," he said.

However, he also talked about "gun legislation" -- he specifically said "I''m not talking about gun control" -- that "keeps the bar high enough that these kinds of situations don't happen". He did not specify what 'the bar' would be to, although in the context of the comments it might have been a reference to mental health.

TRANSCRIPT:
Kyle Mazza: There's been several mass shootings around the country, including recently in Uvalde. There's been arguments that say you need an assault weapons ban. Former President Donald J. Trump spoke about it and said if you do that, it's infringing on the Second Amendment in people's gun rights. What's your view on that? And do you think it's going to be taken too far if there is an assault weapons ban?

Frank Pallotta: Look, I don't think we should look to the weapons right now. I think it's been clear with nearly every mass shooting over the last decade and then some that this is an issue around mental illness. We need to make sure that we've got legislation, gun legislation in place. I'm not talking about gun control … legislation in place that keeps the bar high enough so that these situations don't happen. But we need to address this society, mental health. That's where these come from. The signals that were coming from this shooter in Uvalde were clear. The thing you consistently hear time and time again after these shootings is, well, we should have known that, he sent signals. She sent signals. It was one of these things where the signals have come from many different directions over an extended period of time. So while this is tragic and even one death is tragic, you can't look to the gun. We need to look at red flag laws. We need to look at the concept of where and who people get these weapons and how they get them. So I think there's a lot of things that we as congressional leaders have to look at and what we have to actually sit down and discuss. But you don't start with a ban of guns. You start with addressing the issue of assault rifles. You figure out where we need to go with them. But the bans that people are talking about are not how you start to solve this problem.

In Fair Lawn, NJ on May 31, 2022: Frank Pallotta, Candidate for United States Congress in Congressional District 5 in New Jersey shares his views on if there should be an assault weapons ban