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GUN VIOLENCE
ABSENCE OF POLITICAL (GOP) LEADERSHIP “We’re Not Gonna Fix” School Shootings Says GOP Tennessee Congressman ... Tim Burchett does not seem to think the government has a role to play in stopping mass shootings. 
Tennessee Representative Tim Burchett gives a thumbs up TOM WILLIAMS/CQ-ROLL CALL, INC/GETTY IMAGES Original article: https://newrepublic.com/post/171421/tennessee-rep-tim-burchett-nashville-school-shooting-were-not-gonna-fix-it Peter Burgess COMMENTARY The leadership of a country matters ... and with the political leadership of people like Representative Tim Burchett, Republican from Tennessee, it is no wonder that the US has gun violence that is 'off the charts' compared to other developed rich countries. I grew up in the UK. There is a vibrant community of 'hunters' and bird shooters, but the rules about guns and ammunition are very strict and accidents quite rare. Guns are rare in most criminal behavior because there are massive disincentives to being caught at a crime scene with a gun. The police do not carry guns as a normal routine ... but if guns are required to bring down an armed criminal, a back up 'swat' team will arrive very quickly and neutralise the perpetrator almost instantly. Criminals know this and don't mess with guns. By contrast, police with guns in the USA are rank amateurs. The American Second Amendment might have been important in 1776, but in the modern era has become a stupid anachronism that should be ended. Peter Burgess | ||
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“We’re Not Gonna Fix” School Shootings Says GOP Tennessee Congressman
Tim Burchett does not seem to think the government has a role to play in stopping mass shootings. Written by Prem Thakker ... The New Republic March 28, 2023/11:15 a.m. ET “We’re not gonna fix it.” This is what Tennessee Republican Representative Tim Burchett said Monday in the aftermath of three children and three adults being shot dead at a school in Nashville, Tennessee, and the remainder of the school’s some 200 students, staff, and families, being left traumatized for the rest of their lives. “Three precious little kids lost their lives, and I believe three adults, I believe, and the shooter of course, lost their life too. So, it’s a horrible, horrible situation. And, we’re not gonna fix it,” Burchett told reporters Monday, in an incredibly bold-faced assertion about what a member of our government believes government is even for: nothing. “Criminals are gonna be criminals,” Burchett continued, making the incredibly cynical claim that people are immovable, unchangeable beings. “And my daddy fought in the Second World War, fought in the Pacific, fought the Japanese, and he told me, he said, ‘Buddy,’ he said, ‘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,’” seemingly comparing mass shooters to foot soldiers in the world’s deadliest war. “I don’t see any real role that we could do other than mess things up, honestly, because of the situation,” Burchett proceeded, not really clarifying what the “situation” was that is preventing lawmakers from taking action on gun control. “Like I said, I don’t think a criminal is going to stop from guns, you know, you can print them out on the computer now, 3-D printing, and, there’s really, I don’t think you’re going to stop the gun violence.” “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,” he continued, as if his version of Christianity is the answer to the school shooting in his state or the 128 other mass shootings that took place before it. Despite Burchett’s cynicism, there are a number of actual government policies that would decrease gun violence, like enhanced background checks. The Tennessee representative, however, voted against a bill expanding background checks on gun sales in 2021. On his supposed Christian values, Burchett was one of 62 Republicans who found a way to vote against a bill that aimed to support hate crime victims. He also voted against reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act that helps prevent and respond to domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking. Not to be mistaken as someone who actually cares about achieving national harmony, Burchett did support efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. Burchett was also asked what else ought to be done to protect kids like his daughter. “Well, we homeschool her,” Burchett said with a shrug. There you have it, folks. Editor’s Pick
| The text being discussed is available at | https://newrepublic.com/post/171421/tennessee-rep-tim-burchett-nashville-school-shooting-were-not-gonna-fix-it and |