In the wake of the recent school shooting in Nashville which will likely be wiped off of public minds by another shooting eventually, kids have been protesting at the Tennessee state Capitol. Republicans who control the body have not been happy with it, and — apart from moving to expel Democrats who supported the protests — some are asking the youth some ghoulish questions.
Yesterday HuffPost reported Republican State Rep. William Lamberth agreed to talk with protesters, but then rhetorically asked them to show him what firearms they would be comfortable being shot with, if any. Naturally, no one answered him and, in response, he noted they would not like what he said next. From here, he said the issue is not about the AR-15 used by the gunwoman in the recent tragedy and then concluded his remarks with the notion that no one can stop every single troubled person.
“He then claimed that it would be impossible to stop every single gun from getting into ‘the hands of a crazy person, a deranged person, [or] a convicted felon,’ and even if it was done, it ‘would do nothing to prevent y’all’s safety.'”
Naturally, people online were not pleased with the assertions. Several are calling him callous, one user on Twitter says we should question why this one type of weapon is so often used in mass shootings and another adds he is nothing more than a coward.
Gun laws are likely to remain lax in the state for the foreseeable future. Republican Governor Bill Lee has said “we can’t control what we can’t control” with respect to the issue, and, for those curious, Tennessee has one of the highest homicide rates in the United States. The more liberal Massachusetts with its stronger laws has a lower rate, but, no word on if there is a correlation, yet.