Tennessee Rep. Tim Burchett received scorn from leftists for arguing that the country needs a revival – not Congress – to remedy gun violence in the wake of Monday's Covenant School shooting in Nashville that left six dead.
"We're [lawmakers in Washington D.C.] not going to fix it," the Republican told reporters outside the Capitol Tuesday. "Criminals are going to be criminals… if somebody wants to take you out and doesn't mind losing their life, there's not a whole heck of a lot you can do about it."
Rolling Stone said Burchett "honestly" stated the GOP's plan for school shootings with the controversial phrasing. A Vanity Fair contributor said he won the award for the most "f---ked up response" to the shooting.
TENNESSEE REP. TIM BURCHETT SAYS REVIVAL, NOT CONGRESS, IS NEEDED AFTER NASHVILLE SCHOOL SHOOTING
Thursday on "Fox & Friends First," Burchett doubled down on the take.
"As I've stated, we're a sick nation," he said. "We need to repent and, honestly, we need a revival. It's made a lot of people mad that I've said that, but it really is. There's no other answer for it."
Burchett, who represents the Knoxville area, said outrage over the comment boils down to those dismissing "thoughts and prayers" as a response to gun violence, a perpetual criticism from the left.
"I think they come back to me and say, ‘Look what your prayers have done for us,' and the people doing the praying aren't the ones doing the shooting," he told host Ashley Strohmier.
Like other Republican lawmakers, Burchett raised concerns over the shooter's mental health as well as the larger, overarching theme of a mental health crisis plaguing the entire nation.
"There was a mental issue there," he said. "I think that feeds a lot into how she was able to obtain a firearm."
He continued, sharing that he met with congressional Democrats Wednesday to discuss the issue and see if they could find some common ground.
NASHVILLE SCHOOL SHOOTER LEGALLY PURCHASED WEAPONS, SUFFERED EMOTIONAL DISORDER: POLICE
"I hope we can, and this will never be repeated," he said.
The alleged shooter, 28-year-old former Covenant School student Audrey Hale, suffered from mental illness, but legally purchased the weapons used during the incident, according to local police.
The transgender artist's parents "felt she should not own weapons," according to Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake.
Drake also said Hale was under a doctor's care for an unspecified emotional disorder at the time of the incident.
Fox News' Chris Pandolfo, Kelly Phares and Michael Ruiz contributed to this report.
