A Tennessee congressman is now under fire over a family Christmas photo showing him and kin proudly holding assault rifles.
Republican Rep. Andy Ogles, who claims he was once recognized as “Tennessee’s most conservative mayor,” has come under intense criticism in the wake of the mass shooting at a private Christian grade school on Monday.
The day of the shooting, which left three children and three adults dead, Ogles issued a statement saying he was “heartbroken” and offered his “thoughts and prayers” to the families of the victims. But his response quickly became clouded by a recent Christmas card photo that shows Ogles, his wife and two of their three kids showing off their rifles in front of their Christmas tree.
The post has since been deleted from his social media profiles, but not before it caused a significant backlash.
Fred Guttenberg, whose 14-year-old daughter Jaime Guttenberg was killed in the 2014 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, tweeted out the photo.
“The tragedy of the latest mass shooting is listening to Tennessee politicians who refuse to call it a shooting but who engaged in behavior that caused this to be more likely when they glorify guns,” he said. The wife and daughter held assault rifles, a particularly deadly weapon that Monday’s killer, Audrey Hale, toted during her Nashville rampage.
After this week’s shooting, the pol said he and his family were “devastated by the tragedy,” but when asked by NBC if he regretted sharing the Christmas photo, Ogles replied: “Why would I regret a photograph with my family exercising my rights to bear arms?”
The family’s holiday image had featured the caption: “The very atmosphere of firearms anywhere and everywhere restrains evil interference — they deserve a place of honor with all that’s good.
Another responded to Ogles’ statement with the same photo, writing: “We see you.”
Ogles’ office could not immediately be reached for comment by The Post on Monday.Hale carried out her 14-minute shooting spree around 10:15 a.m. before being killed by responding police officers.
Ogles added in his statement in the wake of the shooting, “We are sending our thoughts and prayers to the families of those lost.
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