KMA Land - Young: Charleston Shootings "Very Sobering"

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by Ryan Matheny

Iowa 3rd District Representative David Young is calling the shooting deaths of nine people at a Charleston, South Carolina church "sobering" and an opportunity to examine race relations and mental health in the U.S.
The U.S. House of Representatives held a moment of silence yesterday on the house floor, a moment that helped put the event in perspective for Young.

"It just reaffirms that there is evil in this world," said Young. "That was the face of evil right there. It was such a tragedy and very heartbreaking. This happened in a house of God. We had a very emotional moment yesterday on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives led by the South Carolina delegation. We had a moment of silence, some reflection and some words by the South Carolina members. It was just very sobering."

For Young, the tragedy places the entire issue of mental illness in the forefront.

"These people who do this -- they are mentally ill," said Young. "Then, we hear about our veterans who go out there and fight for us, and they come home with PTSD, so it's something we need to pay more attention to. We would need to make sure, first and foremost, that we are adhering to the problems that these people have."

With the looming closure of the state-run Mental Health Institutes in Clarinda and Mount Pleasant, Young says the discussion on mental health needs to happen right here in our backyard.

"It's a complicated issue, but we need to be paying more and more attention to it and making sure that we take care of these people," said Young. "When we have these debates -- such as in Iowa -- that the community is involved in a transparent process and their voices are heard. But, ultimately, it's about the folks in our community who have some mental issues, and we want to make sure that we take care of them."

Following the tragedy in Charleston, a handful of southern states have begun the process of removing the Confederate flag from state property. South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and the South Carolina Legislature have started the process, which could take weeks to get through the legal system. Meanwhile, in Alabama, Gov. Robert Bentley ordered that Confederate flags flown at a Civil War Memorial be removed. Young says the decision to remove the flags must rest with the people, not the legislatures.

"It's a symbol, and it means different things to different people," said Young. "It is a part of the past, and for some it's an ugly chapter of a state's history. It's not really about what they are doing right now in dealing with putting the flag down at the state level and dealing with the legislatures. It's not about re-writing the past or political correctness, but it's about maybe closing a chapter on something that's long overdue. The people of South Carolina are going to decide that."

Young was a guest of KMA's 7:35 newscast Wednesday.

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