RFK Jr. is a Pro-Gun Extremist and Conspiracist

RFK Jr. is in lockstep with Donald Trump on guns. Like Trump, he parrots right-wing talking points about guns and spreads dangerous conspiracy theories, like the idea that antidepressant medications cause school shootings. He opposes background checks, says nothing can be done to solve the crisis, and parrots the false right-wing claim that Sandy Hook was a hoax.

• RFK Jr. says gun restrictions can’t reduce gun violence, and that there’s nothing we can do about the availability of guns.
• RFK Jr. claims that common antidepressant medications cause school shootings.
• RFK Jr. has said he opposes background checks for gun buyers.
• RFK Jr. has repeatedly praised people who have falsely claimed that the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting was a hoax.
• RFK Jr. says the National Institutes of Health has been corrupted by the pharmaceutical industry and falsely claims it refuses to investigate the causes of mass shootings.
• RFK Jr. has said that COVID-19 lockdowns show the need for stronger gun rights.

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• RFK Jr. says gun restrictions can’t reduce gun violence. He has said, “I do not believe that there is … anything we can meaningfully do” to reduce the prevalence of guns in America, even though guns are the leading cause of death for children and teens.
• RFK Jr. has blamed pharmaceutical companies for gun violence, saying that common psychiatric medications like SSRI are the cause of school shootings, and has also blamed video games.
  • RFK Jr.’s campaign website previously claimed there was a connection between antidepressants and school shootings. The claim has been hidden from his campaign FAQ page but is still accessible on the website.
• RFK Jr. has claimed that the National Institutes of Health has been corrupted by the pharmaceutical industry, and has falsely stated that the NIH is prohibited from researching the causes of mass shootings, implying that there is a conspiracy to avoid investigating his unorthodox claims.
• RFK Jr. has falsely claimed that there has been no increase in the number of guns in the U.S. in the past 20 years.
• RFK Jr. has said he opposes background checks for gun buyers and has spoken approvingly of children bringing rifles to school.
• RFK Jr. falsely claimed that the U.S. has a similar gun ownership rate to Switzerland, when in fact the U.S. rate is 120.5 firearms per 100 people and Switzerland’s is 27.6.
• RFK Jr. has said that COVID-19 lockdowns show the need for stronger gun rights.
• RFK Jr. has repeatedly praised people who spread the false claim that the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, in which 20 students and six staff members were murdered, was a hoax.
  • Aaron Rodgers: RFK Jr.’s prospective running mate Aaron Rodgers claimed Sandy Hook was a government inside job. Rodgers reportedly said, “Sandy Hook never happened… All those children never existed. They were all actors.”
  • Alex Jones: RFK Jr. appeared on Alex Jones’s InfoWars, and “agreed” with a post that blamed “[t]he media establishment’s historic reluctance to dig deep for answers” for Alex Jones’s conspiracy theories. Alex Jones spread false claims about Sandy Hook for years, and in 2021 was found liable for defaming the families of eight Sandy Hook shooting victims and ordered to pay $1.5 billion in damages.
  • James Corbett: On Corbett’s internet show, RFK Jr. thanked him “for all of your extraordinary work for keeping the public informed.” Corbett hosted leading Sandy Hook conspiracy theorist James Tracy, whom he praised for supposedly showing that the “official narrative” of the Sandy Hook tragedy was filled with “outright lies.”