Calls for GOP Congresswoman to resign mounts over claims that school shootings were ‘made-up’

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (GA.) is facing resignation calls from gun prevention groups after her previous comments on school shootings, claiming that it was ‘staged’ were discovered.
• Facebook has already taken down Greene’s comments on their platform, citing a violation of the company’s policy.
• A petition with over 29,000 has been signed, calling for Greene to renounce her statements and do something to prevent future shooting incidents.

Neophyte Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA.) is facing calls of resignations from gun violence prevention groups following revelations that she backed erroneous conspiracy theories that mass shootings in Sandy Hook, Conn. and Parkland, Fla. schools did not occur.

According to watchdog group Media Matters in America, Greene replied to a Facebook comment two years ago that the Feb. 14, 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland was orchestrated. “Exactly!” she wrote.

Media Matters also obtained screenshots of Greene’s social media activity, where she liked a post that said, “none of the school shootings were real or done by the ones who were supposedly arrested for them,” and a comment saying that Sandy Hook massacre was a “stagged [sic] shooting.” The congresswoman responded, saying “That’s all true.”

A representative from Facebook told the Washington Post that Greene’s comment has been already omitted in the social networking site for violating the company’s policy on misinformation.

As the issue was exposed in the limelight, concerned groups and those who have been affected by the shootings declared their resentment towards the lawmaker.

‘March for Our Lives Parkland’, an organization advocating against gun violence spearheaded by Parkland High School students who survived the shooting, has called for Greene’s resignation.

“Resign, coward,” the group said on its Twitter account on January 19.

The Hill also reported that other notable organizations like ‘Everytown for Gun Safety’, ‘Moms Demand Action’ and ‘Students Demand Action’, have also called for Greene to step down in Congress.

“Dangerous conspiracy theorists who peddle disinformation like Rep. Greene ever further damage the credibility of Congress,” ‘Moms Demand Action’ founder Shannon Watts said in a statement, per The Hill.

“Taylor Greene’s lies traumatize the survivors of shooting tragedies and put their safety in danger. She must resign immediately.”

Meanwhile, an organization called ‘Sandy Hook Promise’ (SHP) has initiated a petition, which demands that Greene should revoke her comments and “focus on preventing future tragedies.” The group was assembled by parental victims of the Newtown school shooting.

SHP managing director Nicole Hockley, who lost her six-year-old son Dylan, alongside other parents who lost their kids from the infamous Sandy Hook elementary school shooting were appalled by Greene’s remarks.

In an emailed statement to PEOPLE, Greene’s communications director Nick Dyer said that the congresswoman “is not concerned about what national Democrat fundraising groups have to say about her. She represents the people of Northwest Georgia, not special interest lobbies that oppose her strong conservatives stances.”

As of this publication, over 29,000 individuals have signed the petition.

Source: PEOPLE.com