Yarmuth Blasts ‘Insensitive’ And ‘Disgraceful’ Massie For Gun-Packed Christmas Family Photo

Rep. John Yarmuth, D-Ky., slammed Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., after the latter posted a holiday family picture showing him, his wife and his kids holding guns as they smiled at the camera. Yarmuth called out the “insensitive” post in the wake of the deadly mass shooting at a Michigan high school last week that claimed the lives of four teens.

“I promise not everyone in Kentucky is an insensitive ***hole,” he said in his retweeted post of Massie’s Christmas family photo. In the thread below his post, Yarmuth added that he’s “old enough to remember Republicans screaming that it was insensitive to try to protect people from gun violence after a tragedy.”

The Democratic representative went on to note that “now they openly rub the murder of children in our faces like they scored a touchdown. Disgraceful.”

One user replied to Yarmuth’s post, asking if one of the guns held by the Massie family was “a M60,” adding that “no normal person needs that.” Another picture said Massie’s post was “really inappropriate and extreme bad taste.” Others agreed on the photo’s inappropriateness as “parents that lost four children are trying to grieve.”

Massie’s family photo for the holidays was captioned: “Merry Christmas! Ps. Santa, please bring ammo.” Social media users gathered to express disappointment over Massie’s post. One user said Massie’s post was teaching “how to show the world you don’t care about life.” Another Twitter user said “Nope. Just cringey.”

Responding to Massie’s photo, Fred Guttenberg posted a picture of Jaime Guttenberg, his 17-year-old daughter who was among 17 people killed in the 2018 mass shooting in Parkland, Fla. “@RepThomasMassie, since we are sharing family photos, here are mine. One is the last photo that I ever took of Jaime, the other is where she is buried because of the Parkland school shooting. The Michigan school shooter and his family used to take photos like yours as well,” Guttenberg wrote.

Other family members of victims of the Parkland shooting have also since responded to Massie’s post. Speaking with CNN, Manuel Oliver, whose son Joaquin was among those who died in the Parkland tragedy, said the “very nasty post” had “the worst taste ever.” Massie has yet to respond to CNN’s request for a comment on the backlash.

Four students, aged between 14 and 17, died following Tuesday’s fatal mass shooting at Oxford High School in Michigan. The suspect, 15-year-old Crumbley, was arrested and charged as an adult, and is faced with multiple charges, including four counts of first-degree murder.