US lawmaker faces backlash over 'Christmas guns' photo amid Michigan shooting incident

Just a few days after the four teens were killed in a Michigan high school shooting, a Republican congressman was chastised for sharing a photo of himself and his family standing with military-style firearms in the microblogging platform, Twitter. Thomas Massie, a Republican from Kentucky, tweeted the photo with the caption, "Merry Christmas! ps. Santa, please bring ammo". In the photo, it can be seen that Massie and his family have been holding weapons in front of a Christmas tree. Following the post, a number of families who have been impacted by the gun violence, as well as political officials, have spoken out against the tweet, BBC reported. 

The Republican drew immediate criticism after the shooting incident in which the suspected 15-year-old teen, Ethan Crumbley open fired at his Michigan high school. Crumbley has been accused of murder and terrorism in the deaths of four students and the injuries of a number of others. Tate Myre, Hana St. Juliana, Madisyn Baldwin, and Justin Shilling were killed, while, six additional students and a teacher were injured in the attack at Oxford High School near Detroit on Tuesday. 

Massie faced criticism after the photoshoot with Christmas guns 

As per the Guardian, Machine guns are limited under US law to the military, police departments, as well as individuals who have secured special licenses for weapons manufactured prior to May 1986. John Yarmuth, a Democratic US Representative from Kentucky, slammed his fellow Kentuckian's tweet and said, “I’m old enough to remember Republicans screaming that it was insensitive to try to protect people from gun violence after a tragedy.” 

The post of Massie was even criticised by Fred Guttenberg, a gun control activist, who shared a photo of his 14-year-old daughter, who was killed in the Parkland school massacre in Florida in 2018, as well as a photo of her gravesite. 

Meanwhile, after failing to notice many warning signals prior to the shooting tragedy, the suspect's parents were charged with involuntary manslaughter. James and Jennifer Crumbley, 45 and 43 years old, are accused of purchasing the weapon used in the shooting for their son. Ethan's parents were detained on Saturday following a manhunt, and a court in Michigan imposed their bail at $500,000 (£378,000) apiece. They have submitted a not guilty plea. Furthermore, it was the most recent in a succession of shootings in the United States that has sparked a heated discussion about gun rights and restrictions. 

(Image: Twitter/ @RepThomasMassie)