Tim Burchett stunned even the most hardened social media users on Monday with his blunt remark about school shootings. Burchett effectively said there was nothing that could be done in response to the awful school shooting that occurred in Nashville on Monday.
When asked what he would do to protect young children, he at once gave a puzzling and tone-deaf response by merely stating that he homeschools his daughter.
After Audrey Hale killed three children and three adults at a private Christian school in Nashville with two “assault-style” rifles and a pistol, Tim Burchett told reporters, “We’re not going to fix it.”
Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) on school shootings:
"We're not gonna fix it." pic.twitter.com/yZZCbJleUA
— Brennan Murphy (@brenonade) March 28, 2023
Burchett voted against a plan that would have expanded background checks on gun sales in 2021. He claimed that nothing could be done to stop similar tragedies since “criminals are gonna be criminals.”
The Tennessee congressman, who has served three terms in office, appeared to draw a comparison between soldiers fending off Japanese suicide bombers during World War II and American schoolchildren’s requirement for protection.
He continued by saying that his father was a major influence on his thinking. Allegedly, he said, “And my daddy fought in the second world war, fought in the Pacific, fought the Japanese, and he told me ‘Buddy if somebody wants to take you out and doesn’t mind losing their life, there’s not a whole heck of a lot you can do about it’.”
When asked if Congress had a role to play in preventing disasters that are relatively rare elsewhere in the world but quite common in the US, Burchett replied: “I don’t see any real role that we could do other than mess things up, honestly … I don’t think you’re going to stop the gun violence.
According to Burchett, praying the killings away is a more effective option than enacting any gun limits or laws. “I think you got to change people’s hearts. You know, as a Christian, as we talk about in the church, and I’ve said this many times, I think we really need a revival in this country.”
At one point, a reporter questioned the congressman, “What else should be done to protect people like your little girl from being safe in school?” Burchett said that it wasn’t a matter that concerned him personally.
“Well, we homeschool her,” he responded with a shrug. “But you know, that’s our decision. Some people don’t have that option and frankly, some people don’t need to do it. I mean, they don’t have to. It just suited our needs much better.”