Incoming NRA President Oliver North Claims Ritalin Is To Blame For School Shootings
In the wake of another horrific school shooting, pro-gun lawmakers and media figures have again tried to claim the problem isn’t firearms or gun laws. We’ve seen Texas’s lieutenant governor say schools should only have one or two exits. Fox News’ Sean Hannity believes all students’ social media accounts should be under constant surveillance.
In that vein, incoming NRA President Oliver North — yes, the Iran-Contra guy who spent the past few years on Fox News — appeared on Fox News Sunday and suggested that drugs given to children to treat ADHD are what has caused a rise in mass school shootings over the years.
After repeating some of the other pro-gun talking points about the need to “harden” soft targets like schools and increasing metal detectors, North told host Chris Wallace that the “disease is youngsters who are steeped in a culture of violence.”
“They’ve been drugged in many cases,” North stated. “Nearly all of these perpetrators are male and they’re young teenagers in most cases.”
He added, “Many of these young boys have been on Ritalin since they were in kindergarten. Now I’m certainly not a doctor, I’m a Marine, but I can see those kinds of things happening and endangering those two gals.”
Needless to say, folks on Twitter had a LOT to say about this claim, which is something that’s been floating around in Scientology and far-right circles for years now.
It may not surprise many of you I have ADHD and take medication for it. Took Ritalin in high school, these comments are honestly insulting and remind me of the stuff Scientologists say about medications for mental health. https://t.co/T9OjfpOH0l
— andrew kaczynski🤔 (@KFILE) May 20, 2018
.@NRA President blames America's school shooting crisis on media violence and Ritalin. This is false. American teens watch the same movies and play the same video games as their peers in other high income countries. What's different? They have easy access to arsenals and ammo. https://t.co/LKhAv5Ozx2
— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) May 20, 2018
Incoming NRA president Oliver North blames school shootings in part on children being medicated with Ritalin for too long. "I'm not a doctor," he admits, but links the rise in shootings with Ritalin on @FoxNewsSunday
— Sarah Westwood (@sarahcwestwood) May 20, 2018
This theory is very popular among Scientologists https://t.co/GsdWgRDKkQ
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) May 20, 2018
First off, blaming ritalin? Fuck you. I took ritalin from 9-18. Second, if you talk about a "Culture of Violence", how is the fetishization of gun ownership not a bigger factor than "violent video games"? https://t.co/n90lI7pDSy
— Travis, Possibly Illuminati, Not Sure How To Tell (@travismcelroy) May 20, 2018
Watch the clip below, via Fox News:
Incoming @NRA President Oliver North says: "If school shield had been in place, far less likely that would have happened. "The disease in this case isn’t the 2nd amendment, the disease is youngsters who are steeped in a culture of violence, they've been drugged in many cases," pic.twitter.com/TrFFG0jHK0
— FoxNewsSunday (@FoxNewsSunday) May 20, 2018
