Republicans Try to Connect Mass Shootings to Marijuana

Ohio State Rep. Candice Keller is under fire for a Facebook post she made following the shootings in Dayton on August 3. The Republican lawmaker offered a laundry list of reasons for killing spree that claimed nine people.

Candice Keller’s Facebook Rant

«After every mass shooting, the liberals start the blame game. Why not place the blame where it belongs?» she wrote. «The breakdown of traditional American family (thank you transgender, homosexual marriage and drag queen advocates); fatherlessness, a subject no one discusses or believes is relevant; the ignoring of violent video games; the relaxing of laws against criminals (open borders); the acceptance of recreational marijuana; failed school policies (hello, parents who defend misbehaving students); disrespect to law enforcement (thank you, Obama); hatred of our veterans (thank you, professional athletes who hate our flag and National Anthem); the Dem Congress, many of whom are openly anti-Semetic; the culture, which totally ignores the importance of God and the church (until they elect a President); state officeholders, who have no interest whatsoever in learning about our Constitution and the Second Amendment; and snowflakes, who can’t accept a duly-elected president. Did I forget anyone? The list is long. And the fury will continue.»

Her comments did not go over well in Ohio and around the country. Butler Country Republican Party chairman Todd Hall stated: «I cannot condone such comments and behavior.» Several other Ohio officials, included Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley, have called for her resignation.

Elected in 2016, Keller represents Butler County in Columbus and is running for the State Senate in 2020. She’s the director of Pregnancy Community Center, an anti-abortion group, and introduced a heartbeat abortion bill in the House.

Candice Keller’s controversial Facebook post

MPP Calls for Keller’s Resignation

But’s what’s got cannabis activists up in arms is her connecting mass shootings to marijuana. in an email to its members and the media on August 7, the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) remarked: «There exists no credible science demonstrating any link between an increase in mass shootings and cannabis consumption or its legal status. In fact, recent studies have shown violent crime statistics decreasing as a result of legalization.»

The MPP has started a petition campaign to oust Keller. It reads in part: «We call on everyone to join the Marijuana Policy Project in condemning Rep. Keller’s rhetoric in this moment of national mourning as misleading, irresponsible and shameful, and demand her immediate resignation.» Sign the petition here.

Candice Keller (left) shooting guns at a Conceal Carry Course in 2012

The New York Post Weighs In

Keller’s not the only who thinks marijuana and mass shootings have something in common. On August 7, Miranda Devine wrote in the right-wing New York Post: «Just last year, the Parents Opposed to Pot lobby group tried to sound the alarm on the link between marijuana and mass shootings, compiling a list of mass killers it claims were heavy users of marijuana from a young age, from Aurora, Colo., shooter James Holmes and Tucson, Ariz., shooter Jared Loughner to Chattanooga, Tenn., shooter Mohammad Abdulazeez. Until we understand those links, it is nuts to enact lax laws that ­encourage more young people to use a drug proven to trigger mental illness.»

Reefer Madness is alive and well in America. You need not look any further than Candice Keller and the New York Post to find it.

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