A Tennessee state representative is defending his decision to give away two AR-15 rifles at a fundraising event.
“We should not focus on the gun itself,” Rep. Andy Holt, R-Dresden, said in a phone interview with WSMV in Nashville about the giveaway. “We should focus on the depravity of the heart of the person who’s pulling the trigger.”
Holt announced the “Hogfest” fundraiser last week, making it clear an AR-15 would be a “door prize.”
After being asked about Sunday’s mass shooting and if he still planned to give away the gun, he said he will now give away two.
Holt is now facing widespread backlash for announcing the giveaway, as it is similar to the AR type rifle used in the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.
Omar Mateen used an .223 caliber AR style semi-automatic rifle, as well as a 9mm handgun, to carry out Sunday morning’s attack in on a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla. The attack left 49 people dead and 53 others injured.
According to Holt, he hopes the door prize of the AR-15s will encourage people to protect themselves.
“It’s not intended to come across as offensive, it’s intended to help people,” Holt said.
Any weapon is dangerous in the hands of a criminal, Holt explained. He said for example that a Molotov cocktail “would have done the same thing” as a shooting.
An AR-15 has been used in various mass shootings in the U.S., including the 2012 Aurora, Colo., movie theater shooting and last year’s attack in San Bernardino, Calif.
Holt also took to Twitter to defend the rifle giveaway, saying the media doesn’t care “about the facts” and that the Orlando shooter didn’t use “the ‘same’ gun.”
Holt said his office also received “death threats” from an anonymous caller Monday night about the fundraiser and that security will be stepped at both the Tennessee State Capitol in Nashville and at the fundraiser.
The fundraiser is set for June 25 in Dresden, Tenn.
