by Nick Castele
In a speech Monday in Cleveland, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton mourned the deaths of 49 people in this weekend’s shooting at an LGBT nightclub in Orlando, Florida. The former secretary of state called for stricter gun regulations and laid out her approach to fighting terrorism.
Clinton referred to the Orlando shooter as “a madman filled with hate, with guns in his hands,” who was “apparently consumed by rage against LGBT Americans.”
Clinton said people being watched by the FBI for possible links to terrorism, as the shooter was in 2013, should not be allowed to purchase guns with no questions asked. And she renewed Democrats’ call to bar people on the no-fly list from buying firearms.
She called it essential to prevent the sort of weapons used in Orlando and San Bernardino from getting into the hands of terrorists.
“I believe weapons of war have no place on our streets,” Clinton said.
She said the country should work with Muslim communities to prevent terror, “not scapegoating or isolating them.” Without mentioning Republican candidate Donald Trump, Clinton rebutted his proposed ban on Muslim entry to the country.
“Inflammatory, anti-Muslim rhetoric, and threatening to ban the families and friends of Muslim-Americans, as well as millions of Muslim businesspeople and tourists from entering our country, hurts the vast majority of Muslims who love freedom and hate terror,” she said.
And to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans who are mourning the attack in Orlando, Clinton said, “You have millions of allies.”
An earlier version of this story incorrectly paraphrased Hillary Clinton as saying those being investigated by the FBI for possible links to terrorism shouldn't be allowed to purchase guns. In fact, Clinton said: "If the FBI is watching you for suspected terrorist links, you shouldn't be able to just go buy a gun with no questions asked."
