Watch: Thomas Massie Calmly Dismantles Dem Rep Screaming Just Inches from His Face
Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky decided to bite as one of his House colleagues, New York Democrat Jamaal Bowman, screamed about gun control to anyone who would listen in the halls of the U.S. Capitol on Monday.
The decision to engage with Bowman predictably accomplished nothing, but the encounter did go viral on Twitter.
Like other members of his party, Bowman believes more gun control would have stopped Monday’s deadly school shooting in Nashville, Tennessee.
During a rant in front of the cameras on Wednesday, Bowman branded anyone who did not agree with him as a coward.
“They’re freaking cowards! They’re gutless!” he screamed at the top of his lungs.
“Force them to respond to the question, ‘Why the hell won’t you do anything to save America’s children?’” the pro-abortion lawmaker said. “Let them explain that all the way up until Election Day on 2024!”
Massie, a pure constitutionalist who is unmoved by virtue-signaling, was walking through the area. He stopped and calmly asked Bowman what all his yelling was about.
Bowman responded that he was screaming about “gun violence.”
Massie saw the moment as an opportunity for bipartisanship. He tried to ask Bowman to co-sponsor a bill with him to allow schools to arm teachers.
“You know, there’s never been a school shooting in a school that allows teachers to carry,” Massie stated.
Rep. Jamaal Bowman and Rep. Thomas Massie just got in something of a shouting match off the House floor over gun control pic.twitter.com/xvRAoxQQPL
— Emily Brooks (@emilybrooksnews) March 29, 2023
Bowman became incensed.
“Carry guns?” he said. “More guns lead to more death! More guns lead to more death!”
Bowman then shut down the potential for any further discussion on the topic.
“You’re not looking at any data!” he yelled. “You’re carrying the water for the gun lobby. Look at the data. More guns lead to more deaths. States that have open-carry laws have more deaths! States that have open-carry laws have more deaths! Are you listening to what I’m saying?”
Massie tried to salvage the conversation. He again reminded Bowman that no school with armed teachers had ever been targeted by a shooter.
He also asked his colleague to calm himself, which sent Bowman into another tirade.
“Calm down? Children are dying!” he roared inches from Massie’s face. “The solution is not arming teachers. Have you ever worked in a school? Have you ever worked in a school? Have you ever worked in a school? Have you ever worked in a school?”
After a final attempt to have a fruitful discussion, Massie abandoned the interaction.
He approached the same cameras that motivated Bowman’s rant and repeated the fact — and it is a fact — that armed teachers have never had to use their guns to stop a school shooter.
He also took a shot at Bowman, who continued to scream behind him.
“We’ve got guns here to protect us and he doesn’t believe the kids should have somebody to protect them,” Massie said.
The interaction was a microcosm of how Congress works.
In full view of the cameras, a Democrat yelled about an all-or-nothing solution to a problem everyone wants solved.
Meanwhile, a Republican with arguably a greater understanding of the issue calmly offered a facts-based approach and was shouted down.
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