Today marks the one year anniversary of the Covenant School mass shooting at the private Christian school near Nashville, Tennessee, where a shooter killed three 9-year-olds and three adults before killing himself. It is the deadliest mass shooting in Tennessee history.
Rep. Andy Ogles (R-District 5) listed the names of the six innocent victims and wrote “My heart is with their families as we remember them.” He added: “I hope you will join me in praying for continued healing for the families of those lost and the entire Covenant School community.”
It’s been one year since the indescribable tragedy took place at the Covenant School.
One year without these six wonderful and innocent souls. My heart is with their families as we remember them.
Evelyn Dieckhaus
William Kinney
Hallie Scruggs
Katherine Koonce
Mike Hill
Cynthia…
— Rep. Andy Ogles (@RepOgles) March 27, 2024
Ogles, who famously posed with his family for a Christmas card while each member (save the youngest) held a semi-automatic rifle, received ridicule and accusations of hypocrisy in the comments.
“Oh please, sit this one out. You don’t care about these families and your inaction the past year proves it,” wrote one commenter. Another said “Don’t you dare say their names.”
Shut up Andy. Your prayers are worthless. pic.twitter.com/mZNm5VVbPa
— TASD (@TASDCJ) March 27, 2024
Some constituents assert that Ogles is too much “thoughts and prayers” and not enough legislation and prevention.
Last month, in a press release titled Rep. Ogles Leads Republicans To Defend Gun Rights, Ogles announced that he and fellow Republican Congressman Thomas Massie (KY-14) are “leading a letter to Speaker Mike Johnson requesting that he opposes any permanent reauthorization or expansion of the Undetectable Firearms Act (UFA).”
Ogles says the UFA is “deviously unconstitutional by restricting the rights of Americans to build lifesaving weapons.”
The original bipartisan legislation which he refers to, the Undetectable Firearms Act, “makes it illegal to manufacture, own, or sell a firearm that isn’t detectable by a walk-through metal-detection machine and a scanning device.” The bill also requires handguns to be in the traditional shape of a handgun and weigh more than 3.7 oz (105 g) of metal content.
The UFA was signed into law in 1988 by President Ronald Reagan. The NRA agreed not to oppose the Act because, at the time, it did not affect any existing guns. (Today 3D printing technology can create pistols made mostly of polymer that weigh less than the limit.)
In January, Republican Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley, who has introduced legislation to permanently authorize the act, said: “It’s an important and commonsense measure that goes a long way to protecting our airports, government buildings and other public spaces.” He added, “Allowing it to lapse now would be a mistake.””