Lawmaker Slammed for Photo of Heavily Armed Family in Front of a Christmas Tree: 'Repulsive, Violent Message'

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A Republican lawmaker is receiving backlash for sharing a Christmas photo of his heavily armed family.

Rep. Thomas Massie, who has represented parts of Kentucky in the U.S. House since 2012, posted a photo on social media of himself and six other smiling members of his family holding various types of guns as they pose in front of a decorated Christmas tree.

"Merry Christmas!" he wrote in a Saturday tweet. "Santa, please bring ammo."

While some commenters on Twitter expressed approval for the image, others were critical of Massie for including guns in a holiday message just days after four teenagers were killed in a school shooting in Michigan.

The father of a student killed in the 2018 shooting at a Parkland, Florida, high school responded to Massie's tweet.

"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," Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter was one of 17 people killed in Parkand, wrote on Twitter, addressing Massie. "The Michigan school shooter and his family used to take photos like yours as well."

Rep. John Yarmuth, a Kentucky Democrat, also responded to his fellow lawmaker's photo. "I promise not everyone in Kentucky is an insensitive ass----," he wrote on Twitter.

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"I'm old enough to remember Republicans screaming that it was insensitive to try to protect people from gun violence after a tragedy," he added in a follow-up tweet. "Now they openly rub the murder of children in our faces like they scored a touchdown. Disgraceful."

Reps. Katherine Clark, a Massachusetts Democrat, was also critical of Massie's post. "Aren't we in the season of peace and goodwill? What a repulsive, violent message especially in a week when we lost 4 students to gun violence in Michigan," she tweeted. "Instead of wishing for ammo, how about working for gun safety so all our kids can be home for the holidays?

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In addition to the four fatalities, seven others were injured on Tuesday during the shooting at Oxford High School in suburban Detroit.

Ethan Crumbley, 15, is charged as an adult with multiple crimes, including terrorism causing death and four counts of first-degree murder. He has pleaded not guilty.

His parents, James and Jennifer Crumbley, were also charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter. A prosecutor alleged in a news conference on Friday that Mr. and Mrs. Crumbley, who also pleaded not guilty, contributed to the tragedy by purchasing the weapon for their son as a Christmas present and for failing to seek counseling for him after school officials notified them of "concerning" behavior.