Last month, in the wake of the school shooting in Nashville that killed six people, Congressman Tim Burchett (R.-Tenn.) said in an interview that went viral, “If you think Washington is going to fix this problem, you’re wrong. They’re not going to fix this problem.” He added, “I don’t see any real role that we could do other than mess things up.” The reaction to his pessimism was swift—for progressives, his statement was further evidence that Republican lawmakers would always find excuses not to enact stricter gun control laws. But when I read Rep.