GOP Ohio Rep. Candice Keller blames recent mass shootings on 'drag queen advocates, homosexual marriage, open borders, and Obama'
A Republican lawmaker from Ohio is facing backlash after blaming the recent mass shootings in America on "homosexual marriage", "drag queen advocates", "fatherlessness" and former President Barack Obama.
State Rep. Candice Keller, of Middletown, Cincinnati, shared a Facebook post just hours after a mass shooting at a crowded bar in Dayton that claimed nine lives and left 27 injured, and a day after a gunman killed 22 people after opening fire inside a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, Daily Mail reports.
"After every mass shooting, the liberals start the blame game. Why not place the blame where it belongs?" Keller wrote.
She went on to blame the breakdown of the "traditional American family" on "transgender, homosexual marriage, and drag queen advocates," said fatherlessness was a "subject no one discusses or believes is relevant," and that violent video games were being ignored as a cause for mass shootings.
According to her, the relaxing of laws against illegal aliens, acceptance of recreational marijuana, and parents blaming schools for their "misbehaving students" were all a part of a bigger problem. Furthermore, she blamed former President Barack Obama for proliferating a "disrespect of law enforcement."
She also railed against "professional athletes who hate our flag and National Anthem" and blamed them for "hatred of our veterans."
In an attack against Democrats in Congress, she said many of them "are openly anti-Semitic" and slammed the current culture saying it "ignores the importance of God and the church (until they elect a President)," referring to President Trump.
Lastly, she blamed "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 anybody?" she added. "The list is long. And the fury will continue."
While Keller made her status update private shortly after, it was already too late to prevent the backlash.
Chris Seelbach, a Cincinnati City councilman who is a Democrat and also openly gay, urged his followers to call Keller's office in Columbus.
"Ohio State Representative Candice Keller (represents Middletown, Ohio) says the shootings happened because of my marriage to Craig," Seelbach tweeted.
Butler County Democratic Party chairman Brian Hester called Keller "an embarrassment" after her remarks.
Speaking to the Cincinnati Enquirer, Hester added, "To blame these shootings on some of the very people who have been targeted is offensive to those victims as well as the nine people who were murdered in Dayton this morning and to their grieving friends and family members."
Meanwhile, Butler County Republican Party Chairman Todd Hall also chimed in, saying he could not condone Keller's "comment and behavior."
In a statement to Fox 19 Now Monday morning, Jane Timken, chairwoman for the Ohio Republican Party, also criticized Keller, calling her post "inappropriate" in the wake of the tragic events in El Paso and Dayton.