GOP lawmaker blasted for posting family Christmas photo with assault rifles in wake of Mich. massacre
Kentucky Republican Congressman Thomas Massie sparked intense backlash on Saturday when he posted a photo that appeared to show seven members of his family, including himself, brandishing assault rifles in front of a Christmas tree.
"Merry Christmas!," Massie wrote above the photo on Twitter alongside a Christmas tree emjoi.
"ps. (SIC) Santa, please bring ammo," he added, followed by a gift emoji.
Massie's photo generated thousands of responses, with many pointing out that it seemed particularly tone deaf in the wake of yet another deadly high-profile school shooting.
Four people were killed Tuesday at Oxford High School in Michigan by a 15-year-old whose parents are now charged with involuntary manslaughter for giving him access to a gun.
Shortly after Massie posted the photo, the father of a Parkland, Florida school shooting victim appeared on CNN to discuss the Oxford tragedy.
Host Jim Acosta asked Manuel Oliver, whose son Joaquin "Guac" Oliver was one of 17 people murdered at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018, about his reaction to Massie's photo.
"That’s a huge part of the problem," Oliver responded. "Someone elected leaders like this one that think that — I don't know if they're trying to be ironic, funny, or what — but it's the worst taste ever. ... It's a very nasty post."
Watch below.
Manuel Oliver on CNN www.youtube.com
I guess this is to trigger the libs and get the base excited but it\u2019s two days after a school shootingpic.twitter.com/PkLe7NDeVV— Molly Jong-Fast (@Molly Jong-Fast) 1638646902
Just imagine, for a moment, the reaction from Republicans and the conservative media complex if, say, Ilhan Omar or Rashida Tlaib posted this picture.https://twitter.com/RepThomasMassie/status/1467197523127422979\u00a0\u2026— Justin Baragona (@Justin Baragona) 1638650219
For did not Jesus say in the Sermon on the Mount: Blessed are those who are armed to the teeth with battlefield weapons, and who brandish them wantonly for no damned good reason at all.https://twitter.com/repthomasmassie/status/1467197523127422979\u00a0\u2026— S.V. D\u00e1te (@S.V. D\u00e1te) 1638650113