NYC Mayor Eric Adams Says School Shootings Began When Prayer Was Removed

New York City Mayor Eric Adams is not shying away from his beliefs despite calls for the separation of church and state.

During his annual interfaith breakfast on Tuesday, the Democratic mayor said it’s impossible for him to keep his Christian values away from his duties in the office. 

“When we took prayers out of schools, guns came into schools,” Adams said during his speech among hundreds of religious leaders. His sermon was met with applause from those who shared similar values. 

Though a passionate statement, his viewpoint is dangerous because history shows that it’s inaccurate. The Supreme Court ruled in 1962 that prayer in public schools violated the First Amendment’s establishment clause, per Middle Tennessee State University.  However, K12Academics.com offers a historical database of school shootings in the United States that confirm gun violence in schools pre-date the Supreme Court ruling. 

While Adams is a Democrat, his rhetoric mimicked that of Conservatives who have used religion to justify the oppression of the LGBTQ community. Still, Adams is not apologetic nor swayed by the judgment of others and maintains that God will continue to be in every decision he makes for the community. 

“When I put policies in place, I put them in with a God-like approach to them,” he told the crowd. 

Social media had much to say about the speech, slamming Mayor Adams for his views on church and politics. 

We need to call this out even when a Democrat does it because it is dangerous!.

NYC Mayor Eric Adams says lack of prayers lead to guns in schools and dismisses separation of church and state. https://t.co/Ub9n0SlSYe

— Covie (@covie_93) March 1, 2023

NYC Mayor Adams dismisses separation of church and state, suggests his mayoralty was divinely ordained

Dangerous rhetoric especially when people have used their religious faith to attack drag queen story hours, a gay Councilmember's house, LGBTQ rightshttps://t.co/xIIWMfscy0

— Gabriele Magni (@GabMagni) March 1, 2023

This is appalling. @NYCMayor, you lead one of the most diverse cities in the nation, including literally millions of atheists and nonreligious people. Church-state separation protects us all, atheist and believer alike. You should clarify and apologize. https://t.co/XCAUE1iRtb

— – (@nicholasrfish) February 28, 2023

Hopefully, Mayor Adams considers the concerns of those affected by such ideology and offers some sort of clarity on his statements.