In Tennessee, hundreds of people gathered at a candlelight vigil in Nashville Wednesday evening, mourning the three adults and three 9-year-old children killed by a heavily armed shooter at The Covenant School on Monday morning. First lady Jill Biden joined the ceremony. On Capitol Hill, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Wednesday that Republicans “want to see all the facts” before proposing any new gun legislation in the wake of the school shooting. That prompted a heated confrontation between Congressmembers Jamaal Bowman, a New York Democrat, and Kentucky Republican Thomas Massie, just off the House floor, where Bowman accused Republicans of refusing to save children’s lives.

Rep. Jamaal Bowman: “They’re cowards! A 9-year-old — three 9-year-olds. Are they going to those funerals? No, they never go to the funerals. They never go to the scene of the mass shootings. And it’s not just in schools. It’s in Black and Brown communities every day.”

Republican Thomas Massie responded to Bowman, “There’s never been a school shooting in a school that allows teachers to carry.” In 2021, Massie tweeted a photo of himself and six family members holding assault-style rifles, with the caption, “Merry Christmas! ps. Santa, please bring ammo.”