CNN Newsroom: Rep. Bob Freeman (D-TN) Discusses About The Nashville Mass Shooting
Interview
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Yes, thank you. Thank you for having me and thank you for covering this today. It's a terrible day here in Nashville.
Yes, you hit it on the head. This is a small school that is part of the community that I represent. And I would wager that everybody in the neighborhood either has attended church there or has a child at school or has a friend that has a child at school.
And just receiving the phone calls from my constituents asking if I knew anything that they hadn't heard if their kid was okay is - excuse me - is not something you want to have to feel the calls for. I've got three young kids, all within the ages of that school and there is a very high likelihood that one of their friends or acquaintance was one of the injured and/or deceased.
All across our city tonight at dinner, we're going to have some tough conversations with our kids and echo what Sen. Campbell said, try to make them understand why we continue to have these things when we have opportunities to stop it and elected officials don't have the courage to do it.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
I think it's clearly a mistake. We continue to act as if there isn't a solution or we don't know what to do and the answer is before us. Other countries have had meaningful impact on gun violence and there's a there's a playbook that we should follow and folks in Tennessee just don't have the courage and the backbone to do it.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
I mean, go back to what you said, I watched that video as well and as that was happening, my wife called me and just broke down in tears. It's unbelievable that our community - as communities across the United States are having to deal with us.
We're going to need answers. We're going to need some comfort to at least move forward to believe that this can't happen again. We're going to need to trust that our kids are safe, you drop your kids off at school, you expect to pick them up at the end of the day and you expect the school and the school system to keep them safe.
That's a pretty low bar to expect from the school system and we've got to do better.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
I honestly don't know. But I think like you, I was shocked, and when I heard that it was 28-year-old woman, I actually assumed it would follow the typical playbook of that 20 to late teen male. I hope this is a one off and we don't see more of this. That we don't see more of this, period.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Again, I don't - I didn't really had a chance to process that. But the thing that I was impressed with what the chief said was within 15 minutes they responded. The level of training that our Metro Police officers have here to go - to the danger and, again, try to save the lives of as many people as they can was heartwarming to me at some degree to know that these men and women are willing to put their lives at risk for the members of our community.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
The reality is that if we are not, as elected officials, creating an environment to better and protect our children, what are we doing. And this should be the most bipartisan issue we should handle. There is got to be a change.
Every time I hear one of these stories, I'm yelling at the TV. We can't - this can't be the - there can't be another one. This has got to be the last one and then there's another one. And we're going to have to have some real bold leaders step up and demand change that people want change. The - your average voter wants change. Children understand there has to be change.
I mean, it's - across the board, everybody understands that something needs to happen. We've got to act. There have been proposals after proposals that get killed by special interest groups. Here in Tennessee, we're seeing an expansion of where you can carry guns, who can carry guns, the lack of a license. People talk about constitutional carry here, we're going the wrong way.
We have got to create an environment that's going to make sure that our kids are safe. And until people start voting people out that aren't doing it, nothing is going to change.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Thank you. Thank you.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Source