PROVIDENCE, R.I. — A Rhode Island lawmaker says he’s sorry for calling a school shooting survivor a “dummy” for her response to a separate shooting that killed four people at a Waffle House restaurant in Nashville.
But Republican state Rep. Mike Chippendale said Tuesday he won’t apologize for “zealously defending” the Second Amendment.
Chippendale responded Monday to Emma Gonzalez, a Parkland, Florida, shooting survivor who’s now a gun control activist. Gonzalez cited reports that an unarmed man took the shooter’s gun away as evidence that teachers don’t need guns to protect students.
Chippendale said the ensuing manhunt might have been avoided if the man had a gun, and “the entire region wouldn’t be on lockdown … dummy.” He later deleted the tweet.
Chippendale is a town chairman for Republican Allan Fung’s gubernatorial campaign.
