NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Republican U.S. Rep. Diane Black has linked violent movies and pornography to school shootings, and blamed mental illness and "deterioration of the family," not guns, for the massacres.
Speaking to ministers last week, the Tennessee gubernatorial candidate cited the availability of pornography while talking about the shootings.
"Pornography. It's available," Black said. "It's available on the shelf when you walk in the grocery store. Yeah, you have to reach up to get it, but there's pornography there. All of this is available without parental guidance, and I think that is a big part of the root cause that we see so many young people that have mental illness caught in these places."
Additionally, Black said she's sensitized to "blow 'em up" movies because she didn't see them growing up, but they don't even make her 15- and 16-year-old grandchildren go "ooh."
"So I believe mental illness is something we have got to address, we've got to address the family, we've got to find ways that even if we have a pregnancy where we don't have both of the parents married, they still understand they're a parent and what that mom was carrying is the most important thing they'll ever even realize," Black said.
The Huffington Post released audio of Black's comments.
Campaign spokesman Chris Hartline says Black cited easy access to pornography as an example of the breakdown in family values.
"She talks about how she believes mental health and the breakdown in social structures and family values are root causes of violence in our communities," Hartline said.
Black has opposed recent attempts to further tighten gun restrictions, including President Donald Trump's short-lived effort to limit the sales of semiautomatic weapons to people 21 and older.