Senate chaplain says he reached ‘tipping point’ on gun violence in addressing Nashville shooting

Senate Chaplain Barry Black on Sunday defended a prayer he delivered on the chamber floor in which he addressed the school shooting in Nashville, a rare occasion in which the chaplain addressed his personal views on a political issue.

Black, who has been the Senate chaplain for 20 years, offered a plea for lawmakers to to take action against gun violence in an opening prayer last month just a day after a shooter opened fire on the Covenant School in Nashville, killing six people, including three nine-year olds. During his remarks, Black said it was “time for us to move beyond thoughts and prayers” alluding to common remarks made by lawmakers in the wake of such tragedies.

Black told on CBS’s Scott MacFarlane on “Face the Nation” the fact that the shooting happened in a church school was the “tipping point” that prompted him to speak out about the shooting.

“That does not mean that every child is not precious, that does not mean that every form of education is valid,” Black told MacFarlane. “It just was the tipping point for me to see nine year olds dying in a place that should have been a city of refuge, in a place that was preparing them not just for time, but for eternity.”

“I have been hearing, you have my thoughts and prayers, and that is valid for any person again who has been told, pray without ceasing,” he added. “But I also know that there comes a time when action is required.”

Black declined to say if he fielded any criticisms from lawmakers over his prayer. He said insted that he receives feed back from the senators during his weekly Bible study that he has been hosting for 20 years. He said that one of the issues that the talk about and pray about in his bible study is mass shootings and how they can get “greater wisdom from God on how to do better with this problem.”

“The relationship that I have with the senators is more like pastor to member,” he said. “For two decades I have been teaching a Bible study for the senators every week. So we talk. It’s not a soliloquy. It is a dialogue and and so we share ideas and we talk about issues. So I get feedback in that way.”