Sinema Chides Elected Officials for ‘Insulting One Another for Offering Thoughts and Prayers’ After Shootings

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) dinged elected officials who are critical of those who send “thoughts and prayers” in the wake of mass shootings.

After last month’s elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, Sinema’s fellow Arizona Democrat, Rep. Ruben Gallego, ripped lawmakers who sent “thoughts and prayers” instead of taking legislative action. However, Sinema did not mention anyone in particular.

On Tuesday, the Senate voted to begin debate on a bill hashed out by a bipartisan group of senators. The legislation would encourage states to create red flag laws to remove guns from people who may be a harm to themselves or others. It also addresses the so-called “boyfriend loophole.” Currently, domestic abusers are prohibited from having firearms, but only if they’ve been married to, lived with, or have a child with the victim.

Sinema, who was a lead negotiator in the bipartisan talks, took to the Senate floor on Wednesday to address the measure. At one point she chided officials for blaming gun violence on a single issue because it helps “confirm their own predetermined beliefs.”

Commonsense proposals have been tossed to the side by partisan lawmakers choosing politics instead of solutions,” she began. “Elected officials have made a habit of insulting one another for offering thoughts and prayers, for blaming violence on strictly mental illness, or video games, or particular kinds of weapons, or any cause that didn’t align with and confirm their own predetermined beliefs.”

Sinema has emphasized her preference for bipartisan legislation since being elected to the Senate in 2018.

“But the communities across our country who’ve experienced senseless violence deserve better than Washington politics as usual,” she continued.

Watch above via C-SPAN.