(C) Common Dreams
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Thomas Massie: Republican Congressman condemned over Christmas guns photo days after Michigan school shootings [1]
['Claire Gilbody-Dickerson']
Date: 2021-12-06 10:46:20+00:00
A US Congressman is facing fierce backlash over a Christmas picture he shared of his family holding military-style rifles just days after a shooting that claimed the lives of four teenagers in the state of Michigan.
Republican Thomas Massie posted the picture on Twitter saying: “Merry Christmas! ps. Santa, please bring ammo”.
Families affected by America’s gun violence accused Mr Massie, from Kentucky, of being “tone deaf” and a “monster”.
Many branded the post “insensitive” as it comes less than a week after four students were tragically killed when Ethan Crumbley, 15, allegedly opened fire at a high school in Michigan.
Seven other people were injured in the shooting near Detroit on Tuesday. The parents of the accused have pleaded not guilty to four counts of manslaughter.
Ethan been charged with murder, attempted murder and terrorism. He is currently in custody and has also pleaded not guilty.
Fred Guttenberg, who has been campaigning against gun violence in the US since his 14-year-old daughter was shot dead in Florida in 2018, responded to the post by sharing a picture of his child and her grave.
@RepThomasMassie, since we are sharing family photos, here are mine. One is the last photo that I ever took of Jaime, the other is where she is buried because of the Parkland school shooting.
The Michigan school shooter and his family used to take photos like yours as well. pic.twitter.com/MsQWneJXAp — Fred Guttenberg (@fred_guttenberg) December 4, 2021
One Twitter user responded to the Republican’s post saying: “This is disgusting. It would be under any circumstance but knowing what just transpired in Michigan, it is especially so. There are parents in MI who won’t have their kids with them this Christmas.
“Why? Because a classmate gunned them down at school. Take this down. You monster.”
Another said: “The bar was on the floor, but somehow you managed to tunnel underneath it.”
Mr Massie, however, seemed untouched as he replied saying: “The BAR is under the couch. #sassywithmassie.”
John Yarmuth, Kentucky’s Democratic representative, hit out at Mr Massie’s post saying: “I’m old enough to remember Republicans screaming that it was insensitive to try to protect people from gun violence after a tragedy.”
He then added: “I promise not everyone in Kentucky is an insensitive a**hole.”
i has contacted Thomas Massie’s campaign manager Jonathan Van Norman for comment.
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[1] Url:
https://inews.co.uk/news/world/thomas-massie-republican-congressman-condemned-over-christmas-guns-photo-days-after-michigan-school-shootings-1337037?ico=related_stories
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