Sandy Hook victim's brother on Biden ATF nominee's assault weapon remarks: 'Guns aren't going anywhere'
JT Lewis addressed school safety after the Uvalde massacre Tuesday on 'Fox & Friends First'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The brother of one of the Sandy Hook victims is speaking out after President Biden's ATF nominee admitted he supported an assault weapons ban but has not "gone through the process" of defining the term.
JT Lewis joined "Fox & Friends First" to discuss the broader debate surrounding school safety just days after the Uvalde massacre and almost a decade after he lost his brother in Sandy Hook.
"You can't really have a debate if you can't define the issues, and it seems like the other side just can't define the issues right now," Lewis told co-host Todd Piro. "I will say here in America, we have more guns than people. Guns aren't going anywhere."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}REPUBLICANS WARN ATF TAKING ‘GIANT LEAP TOWARD A FEDERAL FIREARM REGISTRY’
"It's something that we all came to terms with here," he continued. "Well, not everyone, but I came to terms with pretty shortly after the shooting. There's over 350 million guns in the country. They're not going anywhere."
Stephanie and Michael Chavez of San Antonio pay their respects at a makeshift memorial outside Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, May 25, 2022. (Reuters/Nuri Vallbona)
Lewis touted his city's effort to keep kids safe in schools, saying the matter is not political in his town, just a "matter of fact."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Sandy Hook is a pretty liberal town, and we have armed guards and little annexed police stations in every school," Lewis said. "We know how to do it here, and it's not political here. It's just a matter of fact."
TEXAS SCHOOL SHOOTING: WHO ARE THE VICTIMS KILLED AT UVALDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL?
"The kids need to be kept safe in schools," he continued.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Lewis' remarks come just days after more than 20 people, including 19 kids, were killed during a shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.
Eva Mireles, left, and Irma Garcia in a photo obtained from social media. Both teachers have been identified as victims of the school shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24, 2022.
"I sat in the Sandy Hook firehouse for hours on Dec. 14, 2012, waiting for my brother to come out of that school, and he never did," Lewis said.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"It's the hardest day of your life, and I think it's important, and I hope one or two of them hears this message that although this is the darkest moment of your life, you will be happy again," he continued. "You will find a sense of hope."
During his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Steve Dettelbach faced a grilling Wednesday by Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., who called him out for how he supported an assault weapons ban during his campaign, despite not knowing what that would mean.