Senate Chaplain Rev. Barry Black called for action after a mass school shooting at Nashville’s Covenant School on March 27 in Tennessee left six dead, including three students.
“I’ve heard, ‘You have my thoughts and prayers,’ and that goes again for anyone who’s been told ‘pray without ceasing.’ But I also know there comes a time when action is needed,” Black said on CBS’s ” Face the Nation” on Sunday.
Black’s comments come after a wave of calls by Democrats to reintroduce gun safety legislation following the Covenant School shooting in which 28-year-old gunman Audrey Hale killed three adults and three 9-year-old children before being shot by police. was shot dead.
Black said he always strives to be “in a spirit of prayer”, going on to say the “tipping point” for him was that the shooting happened at a church school.
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“It was just the tipping point for me to see 9-year-olds die in a place that should have been a city of refuge, in a place that prepared them not just for time but for eternity,” Black said.
Senate Chaplain Rev. Barry Black called for action after a mass school shooting at Nashville’s Covenant School left six dead, including three students. (Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post via Getty Images/File)
Black, who has been a Senate chaplain since 2003, did not comment on whether he was criticized by senators after saying “thoughts and prayers are not enough” shortly after the shooting took place. Black did say that members of the 118th Congress who attended his Bible study agreed to “fast and pray” about mass shootings, among other topics, and “how to do better on this issue.”
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“These are challenging times where people are in pain and they hope that government can somehow help ease their pain,” Black said of people’s perceptions of government.
Memorials to the six victims killed in a mass shooting will be placed outside the Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee on March 30, 2023. (KR/Mega for Fox News Digital / File)
“As a Senate chaplain or a civilian, I shouldn’t have to walk into a Walmart wondering whether or not an AR-15 is going to fire bullets. You know, what am I supposed to do? The Lord’s Prayer or the Hail Mary?” said Black.
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Efforts to reintroduce gun control legislation have gained momentum since the shooting, with the White House calling on Congress to “do something.” Republicans have instead said there is a mental health crisis facing the nation that no gun laws can solve.
Efforts to reintroduce gun control legislation have gained momentum since the shooting, with President Joe Biden calling on Congress to “do something.” (AP Photo / Manuel Balce Ceneta / File)
“How many more lives have to be lost before Congress takes action?” Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., said at a news conference days after the shooting. “How many families have to be ripped apart?”
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Republicans have previously opposed expanded funding for gun violence research at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, arguing that such efforts would lead to “propaganda” for gun confiscation.
Fox News’ Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report.
Haley Chi-Sing is a Fox News digital production assistant. You can reach her at @haleychising on Twitter.
