Are Children Growing Up Too Fast? The Mother Of This School Shooter Thinks So
“I never thought my young Tommy would be capable of this.” Said Florida native Laura McNeil, mother of 12-year-old school shooter Thomas McNeil.
Laura’s not alone, she’s part of a coalition of mothers called the Mothers Against Gaming Association, which believes graphically violent video games are responsible for rising levels of misbehavior in America’s youth.
“My Tommy was such a good little baby, and now he’s acting out in these crazy ways. It’s just not all like him. I always figured he wouldn’t even think about shooting up a school until he was at least 15.” said Laura McNeil, during an interview on Fox and Friends this Tuesday.
Laura explains that she was planning on having “the talk,” with her son Thomas when he turned 14, when she would explain that “sometimes when you get angry and you want to kill everyone you have to restrain from those feelings.”
“It’s just that Xbox and the Fortnite game he’s always on. It put all these wacko ideas into my little boy's head,” exclaimed Laura.
Following the school shooting by Thomas McNeil, which resulted in 17 dead and 12 injured, protests have sprung up in major cities around the US, calling for comprehensive gun reform. During her interview, Laura McNeil addressed her thoughts on the protests:
“It’s just absurd. This has nothing to do with guns. We live in Florida, it doesn’t matter what laws you enact, if my baby wanted to get his hands on a gun, I’d have given him one. What needs to change is these god-awful video games and movies that society is brainwashing our children with.”
Laura McNeil is uniquely qualified to speak on this issue. She says “she knows guns better than anybody,” as for the past 13 years, she’s worked as a lobbyist for the National Rifle Association.
Though she doesn’t believe gun reform will be effective, McNeil does believe gun owners need to maintain a higher level of responsibility:
“If I’d had known Tommy was going to shoot up a school, I’d certainly have waited to give him his birthday AR-15, at least for a couple more years. I should have been more aware as a parent to know what video games he was playing. After the incident, I searched Tommy’s room and found a copy of Grand Theft Auto V for Xbox. If only I’d found it sooner, I feel as though this whole catastrophe could have been avoided.”
Laura concluded her Fox and Friends interview with a request to all parents in America:
“We need to let children be children. If we continue to allow violent media to reshape their brains, then our children won’t have the restraint to be responsible gun owners. Please, if you hear your child laughing with his friends on Xbox, go unplug the thing. You may never know how many lives it might save.”
If you want to hear more from Laura McNeil, she is scheduled to speak in Congress this Friday.