Tennessee Rep. Tim Burchett Says 'We're Not Going To Fix' School Shootings One Day After Nashville Massacre
Mar. 28 2023, Published 5:45 p.m. ET
One day after Audrey Hale opened fire at The Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee, killing three students and three adults, Republican Rep. Tim Burchett claimed that "we're not going to fix" mass shootings, RadarOnline.com has learned.
Rep. Burchett, who represents Tennessee in Congress, chalked up the massacre to criminal mischief and appeared to liken school shooters with combat enemies during WWII.
In a video posted to Twitter by Brennan Murphy, Rep. Burchett was asked for comment on the tragedy in his state.
"It's a horrible, horrible situation," Burchett said, "and we're not going to fix it. Criminals are going to be criminals."
The Republican lawmaker then used a bizarre anecdote about his father and WWII combat in a desperate attempt to insinuate that mass shootings are not preventable.
"My daddy fought in the second World War, in the Pacific, fought the Japanese, and he told me, 'Buddy, if someone wants to take you out and doesn't mind losing their life, there's not a heck of a lot you can do about it," Rep. Burchett added.
The shockingly insensitive statement was met with backlash as Twitter users attacked the representative, labeling him a coward.
The lawmaker was then asked by the reporter about any role that Congress could play in reaction to Nashville, such as mitigating access to firearms for those suffering from a mental health crisis.
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Burchett claimed that gun violence victims were "all Americans," adding it didn't matter what state the shootings occurred in or the "color of their skin" because all victims "bleed red" and "they're bleeding a lot."
"I don't see any real role that we could do other than mess things up," Burchett said of Congress addressing common sense gun laws. "You can print them out on the computer now, 3D Printing. There's really, I- I don't think you're going to stop the gun violence."
"You've got to change people's hearts," Burchett continued before he offered religion as a solution. "As a Christian, as we talk about in the church, and I've said this many times, we need a revival in this country."
After Burchett appeared to attribute school shootings to a moral issue, he was asked, "What else should be done to protect people like your little girl?"
Burchett confessed that he homeschooled his daughter but acknowledged that "some people don't have that option, and frankly some people don't need to do it if they don't have to."
The representative was attacked and called a hypocrite by users who were outraged at his callousness towards his constituents — and the loss of three 9-year-old students.
"Affluent, homeschooling lawmaker declares 'not his problem' when it comes to school shootings... we won't fix it," wrote one angry Twitter user. "You cannot compare WW2 to a school, you ignorant dumb---."