Mike Huckabee Says Sandy Hook Shooting Happened Because America 'Removed God From Our Schools'

In the wake of the tragic shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., on Friday, pundits on both sides of the aisle have attempted to blame Adam Lanza’s shooting spree on various things.

The conservative Fox News Channel has already linked the killings to video games, while liberal legislators are calling for stronger gun control.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, now a Fox News contributor, has now weighed in with his own opinion about where to place blame for the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. According to Huckabee, Lanza opened fired on elementary-school students because America “removed God from our schools.”

“Well, you know, it's an interesting thing,” Huckabee said on Fox News. “We ask why there is violence in our schools, but we've systematically removed God from our schools. Should we be so surprised that schools have become a place for carnage because we've made it a place where we don't want to talk about eternity, life, responsibility, accountability? That we're not just going to have to be accountable to the police, if they catch us. But one day, we will stand in judgment before God. If we don't believe that, we don't fear that.”

During his appearance on Fox News, Huckabee also said gun control would not stop school shootings of this nature “unless you change people’s hearts.” Huckabee argued that tragedies such as the Sandy Hook shooting will be avoided only by turning to God, not by increasing gun control.

Think Progress provided the transcript of the Huckabee comments used in this article.

Watch Huckabee’s remarks on the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting below.