Republican Congressman Tim Burchett of Tennessee doesn't want to improve gun laws after a shooter in his state killed three students and three staff members at the Covenant School in Nashville.
"Congressmen and senators are rushing to propose different things. And the reality is, you're not going to outlaw evil," Burchett told Scripps News.
Instead, the congressman called on the Christian community and people of faith.
"We need real revival in this country," Burchett said.
Tennessee has some of the most lax gun laws in the country, allowing citizens to carry a loaded gun without a permit. The state also does not require a waiting period between a gun purchase and delivery.
Officials as high as President Joe Biden issued renewed calls for gun reform after a shooter who police identified as 28-year-old Audrey Hale attacked the Covenant School. President Biden had again asked Congress on Monday to pass his assault weapons ban.
Burchett, however, called Congress a "clown show," and attributed the shooter's actions to their mental health and not the amount of guns in the country.
"We're Americans, we appreciate our freedoms," Burchett said.
Burchett issued a statement saying he wanted Hale's manifesto released to the public. He told Scripps News it would offer transparency on the shooter's mental state.
"This young lady apparently has had some horrible anguish in her life to make her go through this and start changing — trying to change into a man — and there's something that went on in her life that this is not normal," Burchett said.
Though Burchett is suggesting the shooting is a mental health issue, he still doesn't believe in red flag laws — which are gun violence prevention measures that would order the temporary removal of firearms from a person deemed dangerous to themselves or others.
"Red flag laws on the surface seem like they would work, but put yourself in the hands of some dirt bag guy who claims that, say, his ex-wife or spouse has guns in the home, and they are abusive, and the police come in and take her guns," Burchett said. "And then he comes in later and kills her. So I mean, you have to put yourself in the mind of the criminal. When have laws ever stopped a criminal?"
Elina Tarkazikis
