Lawmaker blames shooting on social breakdowns

State Rep. Candice Keller, R-Middletown, said in a Facebook post that blame for the Dayton shootings should be placed on the breakdown of the traditional family, gay marriage, violent video games, professional athletes who protest the American flag, recreational marijuana and “snowflakes, who can’t accept a duly-elected President.”

When reached by phone, Keller said she posted on her private Facebook page. When a reporter read the entire statement to her, she said it sounded like part of her posting but she couldn’t be sure if it had been altered. The posting was removed, but screen grabs were circulated on social media.

Keller said there is a move to lay blame and attack the 2nd Amendment. “There needs to be a time for healing before we lash out at the Constitution and one another,” she said.

Keller called the shooting tragic, stunning and alarming.

Butler County Democratic Party Chairman Brian Hester said of Keller, “She loves to fan the flames and play the role of victim here, not the nine people who were killed….She is fundamentally unfit for office. She is an embarrassment to her party, to conservatives, to Butler County and to the state Legislature.”

In 2018, Keller made national news about teens who survived the Parkland shooting. At a gun rights rally, she said a teen survivor who spoke about gun control on national television “would just as soon be eating Doritos and playing video games.”