- Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee had few solutions to offer after Monday's mass shooting in Nashville, Tennessee.
- In response to a question about stopping mass shootings, he said "we're not gonna fix it."
- He added that his personal solution for keeping his daughter safe is to homeschool her.
Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee offered few solutions in the wake of a tragic mass shooting that left three children and three administrators dead in Nashville, Tennessee, on Monday.
On Monday, a 28-year-old shooter reportedly used assault-style weapons to kill three 9-year-olds and three staff members at The Covenant School, a private Christian school in Nashville.
Burchett told reporters after the tragic event that his solution is to simply keep his child at home.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, hours after the shooting, Burchett was asked, "What else should be done to protect people like your little girl?"
—Brennan Murphy (@brenonade) March 28, 2023
"Well, we homeschool her," Burchett said in response. While answering a separate question about how to quell school shootings, he also said "we're not gonna fix it."
"I don't see any real role that we could do other than mess things up, honestly, because of the situation," Burchett added, commenting about how people can 3D print guns now. "Criminals are gonna be criminals. 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.'"
Burchett had much stronger words on March 7 after his state passed a law banning drag performances in public spaces, telling Newsmax: "We don't put up with that crap in Tennessee."
Burchett's office did not immediately return Insider's request for comment.
In the weeks ahead of the shooting in Nashville, state lawmakers worked to relax gun control laws in the state, pushing forward legislation that would lower the minimum age for carrying guns from 21 to 18.
Rep. Andy Ogles, a Tennessee congressman who represents part of Nashville, also offered "thoughts and prayers," after the mass shooting, which largely fell on deaf ears given a 2021 Christmas photo with his family where he, his wife, and children are holding guns.