Throughout the past week, the White House has continued to draw criticism for its response to the Nashville shooting at a private Christian school that left six people, including three children, dead, in addition to the shooter.
The Biden administration had already incurred heavy criticism for its messaging following the incident, as previously covered by The Dallas Express.
Biden administration officials did not visit Nashville in the aftermath of the shooting, but Vice President Kamala Harris saw fit to go to Nashville to deliver a speech condemning Tennessee Legislators’ expulsion of two Democrats in the statehouse.
Democrat Representatives Justin Jones and Justin Pearson were expelled from their positions as a result of their involvement in a Nashville anti-gun protest during which activists stormed the state capital building and disrupted a legislative session.
Jones and Pearson not only joined protestors but used a bullhorn to lead them in chanting that disrupted the legislative session.
“We are here because [Jones and Pearson] and their colleagues in the Democratic caucus chose to show courage in the face of extreme tragedy,” said Harris on Friday, as reported by The Guardian. “They chose to lead and show courage and say that a democracy allows for places where the people’s voice will be heard and honored and respected.”
While the recent calls for gun reform were ignited by the Covenant School shooting, the vice president failed to visit the community that was victimized in the shooting despite already being in Nashville.
President Joe Biden invited the “Tennessee Three” to the White House on Friday, despite extending no such invitation to the families of The Covenant School.
The “Tennessee Three” includes Jones, Pearson, and state Representative Gloria Johnson, who was also involved in the protest but survived expulsion by one vote.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre recently praised “the kids across this country who have organized protests and school walkouts to tell the politicians in their states to stop this legislative bullying.”
“LGBTQI+ kids are resilient,” she said in a statement criticizing Republicans for legislation designed to prevent transgender operations from being performed on minors, per Fox News. “They are fierce. They fight back. They’re not going anywhere, and we have their back. This administration has their back.”
As the White House pushes this message forward, the families of The Covenant School continue to mourn the deaths of the March 27 shooting.
Over Easter weekend, the community grieved the losses suffered while observing one of the most significant holidays on the Christian calendar, which commemorates the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
“Our beloved sister, Katherine Koonce, will rise again,” said Reverend Mika Edmondson at Koinonia Church in Nashville, per The Tennessean.
Katherine Koonce, the 60-year-old head of The Covenant School, was murdered in the shooting. Her husband, Richard Koonce, was present during the Easter service at Koinonia Church, where Edmondson was preaching.
“We are weeping with you, and we count it a privilege to be able to walk with you,” the pastor said to Koonce.