Add Texas State Rep. Matt Schaefer to the ever-growing list of Republicans who thinks more prayer is the solution to a problem that prayer has never solved.

After the mass shooting in Odessa yesterday, the Republican chimed in with a bonkers Twitter thread reiterating how, as a legislator, he refused to do anything useful. Instead, he would pray, pray, pray, tell fathers to stay home, demand discipline at home, and a whole bunch of other gibberish that most conservative Christians might adore but sensible people realize won’t change a damn thing.

“Do something!” is the statement we keep hearing. As an elected official with a vote in Austin, let me tell you what I am NOT going to do. 1/6 — Matt Schaefer (@RepMattSchaefer) September 1, 2019

I am NOT going to use the evil acts of a handful of people to diminish the God-given rights of my fellow Texans. Period. None of these so-called gun-control solutions will work to stop a person with evil intent. 2/6 — Matt Schaefer (@RepMattSchaefer) September 1, 2019

I say NO to “red flag” pre-crime laws. NO to universal background checks. NO to bans on AR-15s, or high capacity magazines. NO to mandatory gun buybacks. 3/6 — Matt Schaefer (@RepMattSchaefer) September 1, 2019

What can we do? YES to praying for victims. YES to praying for protection. YES to praying that God would transform the hearts of people with evil intent. YES to fathers not leaving their wives and children. YES to discipline in the homes. 4/6 — Matt Schaefer (@RepMattSchaefer) September 1, 2019

YES to supporting our public schools. YES to giving every law-abiding single mom the right to carry a handgun to protect her and her kids without permission from the state, and the same for all other law-abiding Texans of age. 5/6 — Matt Schaefer (@RepMattSchaefer) September 1, 2019

YES to your God-given, constitutionally protected rights. YES to God, and NO to more government intrusions. 6/6 — Matt Schaefer (@RepMattSchaefer) September 1, 2019

Schaefer is no stranger to saying idiotic things. In 2015, he amended a bill to include a ban on abortion if the “fetus has a severe and irreversible abnormality.” In other words, even if a fetus had no chance of survival, Schaefer wanted to force women to give birth to dead babies.

He referenced the Bible back then, too, saying, “suffering is “part of the human condition, since sin entered the world.”

His amendment passed, but the bill (thankfully) did not.

Schaefer has been in the State House since 2012. He’s always won comfortably, but he also hasn’t had a Democratic challenger the whole time (likely because Democrats would see it as a waste of resources in an unwinnable seat). There’s value in running a true progressive, though. In Texas, even if Schaefer isn’t defeated in 2020, giving Democrats a reason to turn out to vote for his opponent could help potential Senate and presidential candidates.

To people who wonder why the United States has so many of these mass shootings and no ability to do anything to stop it, the blame rests entirely on Republicans like Schaefer who have the power to be useful, but are too busy telling the world they’re “pro-life” to prevent another baby from getting shot in the face by a guy who never should’ve been able to get his hands on a weapon.

It’s no joke about the pro-life bragging. Schaefer boasts a “112%” score from Texas Right to Life. Because these people understand math as well as they understand how to govern.

