Ruppersberger Issues Statement on Orlando Shooting

(Washington, DC) – Like the rest of America, I am heartbroken for the victims of the Orlando shooting and their families. This was an attack not just on a nightclub, but on the American values of diversity and equality.  It is my hope that this tragedy inspires more Americans to join the fight against intolerance and hatred.

It is also my hope that this event encourages Americans to use their voices and their right to vote to influence lawmakers who perpetuate discrimination and who continue to turn a blind eye to gun violence. In the wake of the massacre in San Bernardino in December, I renewed my calls for a ban on the sale of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. Republican leadership has refused to let the House vote on this legislation and now – just more than six months later – the worst mass shooting in our country’s history has taken place with a similar weapon. We, as lawmakers, share in the blame. As the President has said, actively doing nothing is a decision.

It is no accident that the shooters in San Bernardino, Newtown, Aurora and, now, Orlando, have all chosen assault rifles as their weapon of choice. They are weapons of war designed to inflict as much carnage as possible in as little time as possible. When assault weapons or high-capacity magazines are used in a shooting, the number of casualties has increased 63 percent. So a ban may not stop these attacks, but will help drastically reduce the bloodshed.

A ban on assault weapons is not gun control. It is terrorist control. While I strongly believe in the Second Amendment, I also believe that we also have a Constitutional responsibility to protect American citizens from harm.

ISIS is effectively using social media to recruit, radicalize and, in some cases, give orders to Americans.  We must be able to identify, track and stop these terror suspects before they act. Republicans and Democrats must come together to pass a budget and give our law enforcement and intelligence agencies the resources they need to get the job done.