Marjorie Taylor Greene blames hormones for Nashville shooter
Far-right Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene sparked outrage by suggesting that hormone therapy could be to blame for the Nashville school shooting — calling it reason enough to “stop blaming guns.”
The Georgia Republican started tweeting the eyebrow-raising theories Monday, soon after it emerged that shooter Audrey Hale, 28, identified as transgender.
Authorities were unable to immediately determine whether the shooter identified as a man or woman, though Hale used male pronouns and the name Aiden on some social media accounts.
It is also unclear if the shooter had actually been transitioning or using hormones.
“How much hormones like testosterone and medications for mental illness was the transgender Nashville school shooter taking?” Greene asked.
“Everyone can stop blaming guns now,” the lawmaker added.
Greene also earlier used the latest mass shooting to push for even more guns across the US soon after Hale used two AR-style weapons to kill six, including three 9-year-old kids.
“Biden and the Democrats send $100’s [sic] of billions of dollars and send guns to Ukraine to defend them from bad guys with guns.
“Why won’t Biden and the Democrats spend money and support legislation to defend our own innocent American school children with good guys with guns?” she asked.
“How many more children have to [be] murdered before Democrats will agree to protect children at schools the same way good guys with guns protect the President and others?” she also asked White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
The 48-year-old congresswoman’s messaging was quickly attacked, with fellow Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) calling it “absolutely disgusting.”
“She should be looking into a mirror as to why she’s defending and posing with the same weapons that are being used to kill children, teachers [and] educators,” AOC told the Independent of Greene.
Self-styled singer-actress-activist-host-writer Malynda Hale called Green “the worst of the worst” for her hormone tweet.
Substack journalist Brian Krassenstein also called her “a worthless politician trying to spread hate and spark imaginary culture wars.”
“Enough is enough! It’s the f—ing guns!” he wrote.
CNN author Jill Filipovic, meanwhile, suggested that Greene’s logic meant men should be banned from owning guns — or even banned outright.
“If testosterone is the real cause of gun violence, maybe we should ban men from owning or handling guns, it’s just too dangerous. Or is MTG suggesting we simply ban men?” she asked.
At least one person suggested that Greene’s tweet “will get people killed.”
A self-styled progressive activist, meanwhile, tweeted Greene: “We blame you. We blame politicians like you who would rather profit from the gun [lobby] than save a life. We’re no longer blaming guns; we’re blaming you,” the critic wrote with a middle-finger emoji.
Greene doubled down on her tweet later in what the Independent called “a heated exchange” with one of its reporters.
“It’s not about their identity,” the lawmaker said of Hale.
“It’s … what kind of hormones are they on? What kind of medications are they taking for mental illness? What is causing this aggression in this biological female who identifies as a male for them to go in and murder children?” she asked.
“It’s important because what will testosterone do to a biological woman? She’s taking tons of testosterone trying to make herself look like a man.”