GOP congressman under fire after posting gun-toting Christmas pic four days after school shooting

(Image credit: Bryan Woolston/Getty Images)

published 5 December 2021

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) has drawn criticism after posting a photo of himself and his family smiling in front of a Christmas tree while holding guns only four days after a school shooter killed four people in Michigan, Reuters reports.

Massie captioned the photo, which he tweeted Saturday, with the words "Merry Christmas! ps. Santa, please bring ammo." Massie is well-known for his libertarian views. In April, he introduced a bill that would make it legal for 18-year-olds to purchase handguns.

Massie has yet to comment directly on the media furor that has sprung up around his post, but he did respond to one critic on Twitter, who wrote that "the bar" — meaning standard of expected behavior — "was on the floor, but somehow you managed to tunnel underneath it." Massie replied, "The BAR is under the couch. #sassywithmassie," referring to the abbreviation for a Browning Automatic Rifle.

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Grayson Quay was the weekend editor at TheWeek.com. His writing has also been published in National Review, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Modern Age, The American Conservative, The Spectator World, and other outlets. Grayson earned his M.A. from Georgetown University in 2019.

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