Republicans blame video games, school prayer bans and social media for mass shootings

Two Republican lawmakers appeared onFox News where they blamed video game violence for “dehumanising” people and inspired the two mass shootings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio.

House minority leader Kevin McCarthy, a Californian Republican and Texas GOP Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick appeared on Fox News to address the tragedy.

America was marred by two mass shootings in less than 24 hours that killed 29 people and injured at least 50 others.

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Dan Patrick called the act “evil” and said there are “many factors that go into these shootings.”

"[It's] Sunday morning when most of your viewers, half of the country, are getting ready to go to church and yet tomorrow we won't even let our kids pray in our schools," Patrick said on Fox & Friends Sunday morning. "We have to look at ourselves as a nation, there are many factors that go into these shootings, many factors. And it's not time to politicise it."

He went on to launch a criticism of the “video game industry.”

I look at this evil act and condemn it for what it is: evil. How long are we going to ignore, particularly at the federal level, doing something about the video game industry. In this manifesto that we believe is from the shooter, in this manifesto he talks about living out his 'super soldier fantasy on Call of Duty.'

We know that the video game industry is bigger than the movie industry and the music industry combined. And there have been studies that say it impacts people and studies that say it does not, but I look at the common denominator as a 60-some-year-old father and grandfather myself, 'What's changed in this country?’

And then, he attacked “social media.”

I look at social media: the violence of just bullying people on social media every day and we turn our head and we allow it.

McCarthy had a similar view, and told Fox News' Maria Bartiromo: "The idea of these video games that dehumanize individuals, to have a game of shooting individuals and others, I have always felt that is a problem for future generations, and others.”

We've watched some studies that have shown before what it does to individuals. When you look at these photos of how it took place, you can see the actions within video games and others.

The Oxford Internet Institute at the University of Oxford looked at over 2,000 young people and found there is no link between playing violent video games and aggression in adolescents, adding to existing studies that confirm the same.

Lead researcher professor Andrew Przybylkski said:

The idea that violent video games drive real-world aggression is a popular one, but it hasn’t tested very well over time. Despite interest in the topic by parents and policy-makers, the research has not demonstrated that there is cause for concern.

People disagreed with the politicians

And they argue the two Republicans are ignoring the real problem - guns