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Tennessee state Rep. Tim Burchett (R) said “we’re not gonna fix” school shootings after Monday’s school shooting that left seven dead.
Tennessee Representative Tim Burchett (R) was outside the U.S. Capitol Monday when he was asked questions by reporters following the school shooting in Nashville, Tenn., that left three children and three adults dead, as well as the shooter.
Facing questions of what can be done to help eliminate school shootings Burchett didn’t seem to offer much thought on the subject.
“It’s a horrible, horrible situation,” Burchett said. “And we’re not gonna fix it. Criminals are gonna be criminals.”
A former student of Covenant Presbyterian School entered the elementary school Monday armed with two assault rifles and a handgun, and opened fire killing three 9-year-olds and three adults. The gunman was killed by Nashville police officers at the scene.
According to a school shooting tracker from Education Week, the Covenant Presbyterian shooting marks the 13th school shooting with deaths or injuries in 2023. In 2022, there were 51 such school shootings.
“I don’t see any real role that [Congress] could do other then mess things up honestly,” Burchett said. “Like I said, I don’t think a criminal is gonna stop from guns. You can print them out on the computer now with 3D printing. I don’t think you’re gonna stop the gun violence. I think you’ve got to change people’s heart. As a Christian, as we talk about in the church, and I’ve said this many times, I think we really need revival in this country.”
Tennessee lawmaker an NRA member
Burchett boasts being a “lifetime NRA member” on his campaign website, and during his 2018 election received a $1,000 donation from the lobbyist group, according to The Tenneessean.
With each school shooting that takes place, families across the country have to grapple with the reality that gun violence is the number one killer of children in the U.S. While politicians insert themselves in political theater with book bans, children are being slaughtered at record pace at the place where they should be safest.
The disconnect between Burchett and millions of families across the country couldn’t be more obvious than when a reporter asked him “what should be done to protect people like your little girl from being safe at school?”
“Well, we homeschool her,” Burchett said. “Some people don’t have that option, and frankly some people don’t need to do it, it just suited our needs much better.”
It looks like the millions of families who don’t have that option are out of luck thanks to Rep. Tim Burchett.