“The View” co-hosts argued during a Wednesday segment over which party is to blame for school shootings following the Nashville, Tennessee, school shooting.
Co-hosts Joy Behar and Sunny Hostin blamed Republicans for the continued school shootings breaking out throughout the country and accused the party of showing no concern about mental health. Co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin, a self-identified Republican, pushed back against her fellow co-hosts pointing fingers.
“I don’t want to hear one House Republican talk about mental health,” Hostin said. “Because 210 House Republicans voted against the American Rescue Plan which provided $12 billion to address mental health needs arising from the pandemic. I don’t want to hear it!”
Behar argued that Republican Tennessee Sen. Tim Burchett homeschooling his daughter proves that he has no interest in increasing safety in schools.
Griffin countered that mental health is a major factor in shootings, so the focus should be to prevent potential criminals from obtaining firearms. The co-hosts broke out into an argument when she argued that the public supports background checks for all gun purchases.
“Handguns have been used in mass shootings, they have been used to kill. Background checks, that is something 92% of the country believes that you need to have background checks,” Griffin said. (RELATED: ‘The View’ Co-Hosts Rage About AR-15s After Nashville School Shooting)
“Not Republicans!” Behar interjected. “They don’t believe it.”
“There’s a disconnect between elected officials—Republican Americans,” Griffin said. “92% of this country, that’s a lot of Republicans. There’s a disconnect between those and power.”
“But they keep voting for the same people in the Republican Party who do nothing,” Behar said.
Griffin pointed to gun control legislation backed by ten Senate Republicans — including Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina — to expand stricter background checks for people below the age of 21 and provide incentives for states to adopt red flag laws and mental health funding. She said the legislation a “significant” step in moving forward.
“Was it significant?” Hostin pushed back.
“I think it was incredibly significant,” Griffin argued.
“Well 193 Republicans voted against it,” Hostin said.
Griffin said “incremental” change is beneficial for saving lives.
Co-host Whoopi Griffin claimed the same shootings will continue occurring if the AR-15 is not banned from civilian use. Seventy-eight percent of mass shootings incidents between 1982 and March 2023 were committed by handguns, according to Statista.
The shooting at Covenant School left six dead, including three nine-year-olds, after transgender shooter Audrey Hale entered the building armed with two semi-automatic rifles and a handgun. The Nashville Metropolitan Police Department encountered and killed Hale on the second floor.