(VitalNews.org) – House Representative Jamaal Bowman (D-NY.) called Republicans “cowards” for not backing Democrat gun control measures after the March 27 shooting at a Tennessee Christian school that left six dead.
When Republican Thomas Massie (R-KY.) challenged Bowman, insults started to fly. Bowman was in the hall of the Capitol talking to reporters about what he said was Republican cowardice because conservatives didn’t support Democrats’ gun control agenda immediately after Monday’s shooting.
Bowman said Republicans didn’t care about the victims. “Three 9-year-olds. Are they going to those funerals? No!” Bowman said.
Bowman continued his speech as lawmakers walked past, including Massie. Massie then challenged Bowman by asking if Bowman knew there had never been a shooting at a school that allows teachers to carry guns. Bowman shouted in retort that “more guns lead to more deaths.”
Both Congressmen took to Twitter to tell their version of the encounter. Using the same challenging tone, Bowman tweeted that Republicans “won’t do (expletive) when it comes to gun violence.”
Massie tweeted that Bowman started shouting at him when Massie offered a solution to the problem of school shootings. When Bowman asked for data, he wrote, Massie gave it to him, “but then he just shouted more.”
Washington Republicans have said they will not be pushed into Democrat gun control measures in response to the tragedy in Tennessee. 28-year-old Audrey Hale, a former student of the Covenant School in Nashville, targeted that school and opened fire on March 27, killing three children and three adults.
Democrats are pushing for a universal, federal ban on what they insist on calling “assault weapons,” though there is no agreed-upon definition of that term. It is not clear what would make one gun an “assault” weapon, while another gun would not be so described.
President Joe Biden has said there are no other actions he can take as President to enforce gun control and that Congress now needs to act.
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