Richard Martinez, whose son Christopher was among the six victims in the mass killings in Isla Vista, California over the weekend, ripped both lawmakers and President Barack Obama in an interview with MSNBC host Ari Melber on Tuesday, saying he dismissed an unidentified congressperson’s attempt to contact him in no uncertain terms.

“As I see it, it’s their freaking fault, and that includes the president,” he said. “I don’t care. My son died, and I believe it could have been prevented. We’re Americans. We’re supposed to be a ‘can-do’ country. I find it inconceivable and unacceptable that this has become a normalized condition in our society.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Martinez has been openly critical of legislators in the wake of the attack, referring to them as “rudderless idiots” in an interview with CNN and blaming “craven, irresponsible politicians and the NRA” in a separate public statement.

On Tuesday, he told Melber that the statement was prepared with input from other family members, saying opponents of stricter gun safety laws would try to characterize it as a “rant,” and once again excoriated Congress for its inaction on the issue.

“They can’t do anything. It’s just childish,” Martinez said. “These guys, they go up there, they have dinner with the lobbyists, they eat in fancy restaurants, they wear expensive suits, and what do we get for it? What do we get for it? I mean, we get our kids killed. This problem can be solved; all it takes is leadership.”

While some conservative figures have already argued against Martinez’s remarks, he told Melber he anticipated more heated opposition in due time, as has happened following other mass shootings.

“They’re gonna try to do to me the same thing that they’ve done to all these people,” Martinez said. “But I have a message for them: my son’s dead. There’s nothing you can do to me that’s worse than that, so I’m not gonna stop. Short of killing me, and you know, that could happen. These people, some of them are crazy.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Watch Melber’s interview with Martinez, as aired on MSNBC on Tuesday, below.