On March 27, at 10:13 a.m., the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department received a call that reported sounds of gunshots at the local Covenant School. By the end of the day, Hallie Scruggs, Evelyn Dieckhaus, William Kinney, Mike Hill, Cynthia Peak and Katherine Koonce were identified as the six victims whose lives were taken in this tragic, yet recurring event. The following day, on March 28, Republican Tennessee Congressman Tim Burchett responded to the massacre with an opinion that was both devastating and insulting to those who lost their loved ones.
“I don’t think [the government is] gonna stop the gun violence, …. I think you gotta change people’s hearts,” Burchett said.
He later posted a tweet, sending his ‘thoughts and prayers’ to the families of the victims. Not only is it appalling that this man is a representative of our country, but he represents an even larger group of people who don’t seem to understand the difference between freedom and death.
Generally, instead of addressing the scientifically-proven causes of gun violence, pro-gun lawmakers choose to deflect. In May 2022, after an 18-year-old gunned down 19 children and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas using military-grade weapons he had legally acquired, Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott said, “We as a state, we as a society need to do a better job with mental health … anybody who shoots somebody else has a mental health challenge. Period. We as a government need to find a way to target that mental health challenge and do something about it.”
This is a common argument among other Republicans, including Gov. Asa Hutchinson (Ark.), Rep. Tony Gonzales (Texas) and, in a speech at the National Rifle Association convention, former president Donald Trump. Since — according to many Republicans — the obvious cause of elevated gun violence in the U.S. is mental health, they must be working to pass laws to increase youth mental health resources, right? Wrong.
In March 2021, 210 Republicans voted against the American Rescue Plan, which provided $12 billion to address mental health needs arising from the pandemic. In June 2022, 193 House Republicans voted against the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which provided over $2.35 billion to expand vital school mental health services and improve learning environments. In July 2022, after 193 House Republicans voted against cracking down on the spread of ghost guns, which are often used by criminals and minors as they can be bought without a background check, President Biden took action to close that loophole through executive action.
Even if pro-gun lawmakers were attempting to pass laws that target the “most direct cause of gun violence,” it’s important to note that gun violence prevention policies that focus solely on mental health will not stop gun violence. Instead, these policies further create prejudice and fear around people living with mental illness and could actually deter people from seeking mental health services.
As opposed to solely spotlighting mental illness, policies and programs should actively focus on evidence-based behavioral risk factors for future violence, such as past violent behavior, domestic violence and substance and alcohol abuse.
While young teens continue to gain access to deadly military weapons, enter schools and massacre students and faculty, lawmakers spend their days debating the relevance of TikTok. While students go through lengthy drills and procedures to practice escaping a murderer with a semi-automatic assault rifle, originally created for deadly battlefield purposes, lawmakers argue over the monopolistic characteristics of Ticketmaster. While parents who dropped their nine-year-old child off at school in the morning have to identify their mutilated body in the afternoon, lawmakers choose not to care. We don’t want your thoughts and prayers, we want action.
Illustration by Calla Mcbride