CNN’s Jim Acosta questioned Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) on Saturday over why he can’t “get together with the Democrats and get it done” in response to acts of gun violence across the country.
The CNN anchor brought up this weekend’s deadly shooting at a Texas home and picked apart Burchett’s claims about lawmakers’ inability to address gun violence.
“A lot of people listen to what you just said and said ’wait a minute, it is your job to fix this and it’s unacceptable to have mass shooting after mass shooting after mass shooting.’ Why not fix this? Get together with the Democrats and get it done,” Acosta said.
Burchett, in response, reiterated his call for a Christian “revival” as a potential solution.
“I was probably speaking more from a Christian perspective, I also went on to say we need real revival in this country,” Burchett said of his past statement.
“There’s Christianity in other countries and they don’t have mass shootings,” Acosta noted.
″Well they don’t have our freedom, either, they don’t have the Second Amendment,” replied the Republican, who warned about the use of 3D printers to make guns.
ACOSTA: People listen to what you said & say it's your job to fix gun violence. Why not?
REP. BURCHETT: I was probably speaking more from a Christian perspective. We need revival in this country
ACOSTA: There's Christianity in other countries & they don't have mass shootings pic.twitter.com/KIYjja7W5S
The five people killed in the recent Texas mass shooting join a list of 13,819 people who have died as a result of gun violence in the U.S. this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
There have been 176 mass shootings in the U.S. in 2023, as of Sunday, the site noted.
Twitter users slammed Burchett over his response to Acosta and questioned him over “what freedom” the U.S. has compared to other countries.
These people invoking the lord when kids are being shot make me want to vomit ……. It’s such a gutless insurance policy for conversation and should be offensive to believers
— andyroddick (@andyroddick) April 29, 2023What a fucking farce: A sitting US Congressman from Tennessee tries to blame godlessness and “freedom” for gun violence, saying it’s not his job to fix this crisis and it’s too late anyway because 3D printers. Enjoy your mayhem, America!!! https://t.co/uk2205EWhi
— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) April 30, 2023We have freedom in Canada. I enjoy it every time I go to the grocery store or the coffee shop and not feel threaten by an AR-15.
— Bernard Leclair1 (@Leclair1Bernard) April 29, 2023Great question by Acosta. In response to the Congressman who said more adherence to Christianity would bring down rates of shootings, the US actually has some of the highest rates of both Christian belief AND mass shootings in the world. So why hasn't that worked yet? https://t.co/4Roe4OinMp pic.twitter.com/j1uoXEYpmS
— Seth Cotlar, mostly now at the other places (@SethCotlar) April 29, 2023