Career politician Tim Burchett, R-Tenn, drew accusations of defeatism over his refusal to address gun control following Monday’s mass shooting in Nashville that left seven people dead at a Christian private school.
“We’re not gonna’ fix it,” Burchett told reporters Tuesday. “Criminals are gonna be criminals.”
Three 9-year-old students and a trio faculty members in their 60s died at The Covenant School when Audrey Hale — a 28-year-old Nashville resident being treated for an undisclosed emotional disorder — opened fire shortly after 10 a.m. Hale, carrying three legally purchased guns, was killed by police.
“If you think Washington is going to fix this problem you’re wrong,” Burchett said. “They’re not going to fix this problem. They are the problem.”
The elected official added he simply opts to homeschool his daughter.
His comments drew fire on traditional and social media.
“If you can’t help keep the people safe, please find another job,” tweeted Jay Bakker, the son of televangelists Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker.
“Late Show” host Stephen Colbert echoed similar sentiments on his Tuesday night program.
“I suppose as a lawmaker, he could — I don’t know — make a law, but that sounds like a lot of work,” Colbert joked.
Burchett, 58, has spent nearly half of his life in politics. The Republican lawmaker was sworn into the Tennessee House of Representatives on Jan. 10, 1995. He served as a state senator and mayor before becoming a federal official in 2019. In 1999, he championed legislation making it legal for Tennesseans to eat road kill.
“It’s common sense legislation,” he told the Associated Press at the time.
Burchett sits on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee. According to Vote Smart, he voted against an assault weapons ban and the Active Shooter Alert Act in 2022. In 2021, Burchett opposed enhanced background checks. Gun Owners of America gave him an A grade.
Burchett told CBS News mental illness, poor school security and possibly “demon possession” are at the root of the mass shooting epidemic.
