CNN "CNN Newsroom" - Transcript: Interview with Rep. Scott H. Peters

Interview

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[19:15:47] CABRERA: Welcome back. There will be a service tonight for the community and the victims of the synagogue shooting in Poway, California.

Joining us now in the phone is Congressman Scott Peters whose district includes Poway, California.

Congressman, apologies that we have to meet under these circumstances tonight. Our condolences to you and your entire community and district. Describe your emotions for us when you heard about this synagogue shooting.

REP. SCOTT PETERS (D), CALIFORNIA (via telephone): Well, thank you for having me. You know, it's easy when you're to -- when you're -- you see one of these things happen from far away, to think that this is some part of -- a part of some national trend and that it's not going to hit you.

But when it hits you and you lose someone like Lori Kaye, it literally brings it home. And, you know, I think -- I do want to mention that Lori was a mother, a daughter, a valued member of this congregation. A loving, giving member of the Poway and San Diego community, both the Jewish and the community at large.

And that's, I think, what really hurts. And so, you know, my first thoughts are with her husband and her daughter and their family and the family of the people who have been shot and the congregation and the community of Poway.

CABRERA: Do you have any security concerns tonight about other houses of worship in the Poway area?

PETERS (via telephone): I feel that the sheriff, Sheriff Gore, our city's -- city of San Diego police chief, Chief Nisleit, and the FBI have been working well together to watch out for this. I think, generally, San Diego and Poway are very safe communities.

And I think we can -- we believe that this is an anomaly. It's a horrific one. And, you know, I think we ought to view this kind of White supremacist activity as terrorism and respond to it with the same kind of vigor. But I'm very confident in our -- the ability of our local law enforcement to work well with the FBI to protect our citizens.

CABRERA: And on that note, does law enforcement, or maybe it's the Homeland Security Department, need to beef up security at houses of worship, do you think?

PETERS (via telephone): You know, I -- it's not right that anyone should be in a synagogue or a church or a mosque worshiping the -- their God as they choose, under the First Amendment, the most basic of American rights, in fear that they might be subject to this kind of horrific violence.

I don't think it's just a matter of protecting houses of worship. I think it's a matter of changing the way we're thinking about this and removing this -- and speaking up against this hatred that we seem to see.

For some reason, Americans have pitted themselves against Americans. We've got this awful anti-Semitism movement, you know, going on through the Internet. It's filled with rage and hate and leads to violence, and we ought to all be speaking up, too, against it wherever it is.

And it's got to stop. And we have to say, you know, leaders in government and business and communities have to say that this is not right. It's not just places of worship. It's bars, it's movie theaters, where we see these kinds of guns.

And to the extent that it's a matter of dealing with having these kinds of weapons on the street, these weapons of war on the street, I think the government has a role in pushing back against that as well. And we started to do that in Congress. We have a lot more work to do.

CABRERA: There's a lot been said -- that's been said about gun control in California and how there are quite a few regulations. The suspect is just 19 years old and California does not allow him or somebody that age to buy certain weapons. So what specifically do you think needs to happen? Is tougher gun control the answer here?

PETERS (via telephone): There's sort of a false narrative or false choice that you hear in D.C. that it's not guns. It's mental health. It's mental illness. It's really both, Ana.

It's -- there's plenty of responsible gun owners who don't go shoot up houses of worship. But they're -- and they're sane. But you have these people who are insanely violent who, when they have a gun, go and shoot up these houses of worship. They maybe shouldn't have guns.

[19:19:55] And that's what the idea of universal background checks would address. We passed something finally in the House. I mean, I've been involved in this since I was in -- first in Congress. I was the person who filmed the sit-in and broadcast it after the Orlando shooting from the House floor.

We finally passed the bill in the House to close loopholes so that if you buy a gun on the Internet or at a gun show, you have to have the same background check as if you bought it at Walmart.

You know, it's a step in the right direction. I still think we have to have a conversation about whether we want these weapons of war on our streets. I don't think we do. I think we should act against that.

And, you know, of course, we have to deal with mental health. And there's all sorts of instances where, in our health care system and the way we deal with veterans and so forth, we have to provide better support for people. And in this instance, for kids in school.

I guess I'd also just remind the community, if you see something, say something. This person had things on the social media networks that would have caused concern. I think we'll find out in the coming days and weeks, you know, what the response was to that. But people shouldn't be shy about speaking up. It's better to be safe than sorry.

CABRERA: And finally, I know you know Rabbi Goldstein personally. He was so powerful in his remarks this afternoon.

PETERS (via telephone): Right.

CABRERA: What do you think needs to happen for this community to start to heal?

PETERS (via telephone): Well, I mean, it's -- I was delighted to go to Chabad's 30th anniversary within the last few years. It's a very warm community. This is a very strong community.

This community will come together as I think will the community of Poway and all of San Diego because we do care about each other. And this is an unfortunate way to remind us about how fragile life is and how much we lean on each other, you know, for our community.

And I think that, over time, that this will help strengthen the community, strengthen our awareness. And I just want -- I want Lori's -- Lori Kaye's life to be -- to have that kind of meaning.

CABRERA: Yes.

PETERS (via telephone): That from this awful tragedy might spring more love and understanding and compassion among us all. And I hope not just in San Diego but beyond.

CABRERA: Sure.

PETERS (via telephone): This kind of American versus American hatred and -- it's just got to stop, this anti-Semitism. This is the week of the remembrance of the Holocaust.

CABRERA: Right.

PETERS (via telephone): This kind anti-Semitism has no place in the post-Holocaust world.

CABRERA: Right.

PETERS (via telephone): And, you know, this is a reminder that we have work to do.

CABRERA: OK. Congressman Scott Peters, I appreciate your time. Thank you very much.

PETERS (via telephone): Thank you, Ana.

CABRERA: We'll be right back.

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