North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson said mass shootings are “karma” for allowing abortion

Special Programs Abortion Rights & Reproductive Health

Written by Eric Hananoki

Research contributions from Payton Armstrong

Published

North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, the leading candidate for the Republican nomination for governor, said in 2019 that the prevalence of mass shootings in the United States is “karma” for allowing abortions. He added: “When you spill that innocent blood, that blood is going to come back as a stain on you and it's going to come home to roost.” 

Prior to entering politics, Robinson was a right-wing commentator who appeared on Fox News and other conservative media outlets. He has a history of using toxic rhetoric, including about LGBTQ and Jewish people. Media Matters previously reported that he claimed Harvey Weinstein and Bill Cosby were victims of a left-wing “plot” and urged people “to stand up against it.” 

He also has made vitriolic remarks about abortion and school shootings. Those two topics came together in an August 19, 2019, interview on the streaming program Anomic Age with host John Age.  

Robinson’s appearance came after the August 3 anti-Hispanic mass shooting in El Paso, Texas. Prior to Robinson’s interview, Age claimed that the shooting “seems fishy,” adding, “I would typically just call these operations. I'm not sure. The thing in Texas stinks quite a bit.”

During that interview, Robinson said it was “karma” for the country to experience so many mass shootings because it has allowed abortion. He said: 

MARK ROBINSON: People say, “Well, I just can't believe we're having all these mass killings. And I can't believe that people are so mean.” Our own government is promoting the murder of infants. Do you think that somehow -- people talk about karma all the time. Do you think that that's not swinging back around in this society and that people are seeing how human life is being devalued through the murder of all these infants? Of course it is. Of course they are. So, you know, it's just like that old thing that Malcolm X said years ago about the Kennedy assassination, about chickens coming home to roost. When you spill that innocent blood, that blood is going to come back as a stain on you and it's going to come home to roost. And we see it now. 

He then attacked gun safety advocates and progressive activists, stating: “They have nobody to blame but themselves and the policies that they've been pushing that devalue human life across the country.” 

The host later told Robinson, “We're reaping what we've been sowing right now. It's just sick.” Robinson replied: “Absolutely. Absolutely. It's very sad.” 

From the August 19, 2019, edition of Anomic Age

Other Republican politicians and media figures have also blamed abortion for mass shootings, including Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Rep. Billy Long of Missouri, the late Rush Limbaugh, and Mark Levin. 

Robinson also entertained the conspiracy theory that the El Paso mass shooting was staged. On the day of the shooting, he appeared on a radio program where he was asked if he thought “today's shooting was planned.” He responded: “I have no idea whether or not it was planned, but you know, whether it was planned or not, it is, again, a symptom of a terrible issue. A terrible disease is going on in this country right now. And we have got to figure out a way to stop it.” Earlier in the broadcast, Robinson said he didn’t have “all the details” of the shooting that had just happened. 

Mark Robinson entertains whether El Paso mass shooting was staged

Mark Robinson entertains whether El Paso mass shooting was staged

From the August 3, 2019, edition of The Edge Broadcast

HOST: Here's a question for you from our chat. It says, “Every time the Democrats start to debate, a shooting happens. Do you think today's shooting was planned?” 

MARK ROBINSON: I have no idea whether or not it was planned, but you know, whether it was planned or not, it is, again, a symptom of a terrible issue. A terrible disease is going on in this country right now. And we have got to figure out a way to stop it. But we also got to understand this. The way to stop these shootings is not to disarm people, because criminals will not be disarmed. You could take guns away from them all day long. But if they don't have guns — Timothy McVeigh didn't have a gun. The 911 hijackers didn't have guns. They were able to do major damage. A determined killer is going to kill. We need to fight crime is what we need to do.