Incoming NRA Chief Oliver North Blames ‘Ritalin’ and ‘Culture of Violence’ For Mass Shootings
NRA President
Oliver North said Sunday, just two days after
10 people were killed at a high school in Santa Fe, Texas, that guns are not the problem. Rather, North said, the issue is a culture of violence where many young boys have “been on Ritalin since they were in kindergarten.”
“The disease in this case isn’t the 2nd amendment,” North told Fox News’
Chris Wallace on
Fox News Sunday. “The disease is youngsters who are steeped in a culture of violence, they’ve been drugged in many cases.”North, who was named to his position earlier this month, observed that most mass shooters are males who grew up in “a culture where violence is commonplace.”
“If you look at what has happened to these young people, many of these young boys have been on Ritalin since they were in kindergarten,” North added.
While the shooters in Parkland, Florida and some other massacres had flown under the radar of law enforcement for months or years in some cases, the 17-year-old shooter in Santa Fe gave little indication before the shooting that he posed a threat.
North’s statement echoes what Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick told ABC’s
George Stephanopolous Sunday on
This Week. Patrick suggested that Americans should not be surprised by the number of recent shootings since “we have devalued life.”