June 13, 2016

This Is the First Gun Control Bill Introduced After the Orlando Shooting

The legislation, from Sen. Bob Casey, limits gun access for people convicted of hate crimes.

Participants in a candlelight vigil outside of the White House kiss to show their solidarity with the victims of Sunday's Orlando shooting. Manuel Balce Ceneta /AP

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.


One day after the deadliest mass shooting in American history killed at least 50 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) introduced legislation that would bar people convicted of hate crimes from purchasing or possessing firearms.

Casey announced the Hate Crimes Prevention Act at a press conference in Pittsburgh this afternoon. He indicated that Omar Mateen, the Orlando shooter, targeted people at the Pulse nightclub because of their sexual orientation. Mateen’s father has said Mateen was once angered by a public display of affection by two men.

“We have to make sure that we’re focused on the connection between hate crimes and violence, and the connection between hate crimes and acts of terror or violence against individual communities,” Casey said. “In Orlando, he was targeting people based on who they were and who they loved, and that has to be a focus of our work as well.”

Casey first indicated his plans for the legislation yesterday when he reacted to the Orlando shooting with a series of tweets:

Casey’s office also released a statement about the Orlando shooting, reiterating much of what was written in his tweets.

Casey’s comments on the Orlando shooting stand in stark contrast to those made by Republican politicians, who have focused on possible terrorist connections between Mateen and ISIS. Earlier today, President Barack Obama told reporters that there was no indication that Mateen was connected to a larger terrorist network.

The Hate Crimes Prevention Act was introduced in the House of Representatives by Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) in February. The House never voted on the bill.

This post has been updated to include information about the House version of the Hate Crimes Prevention Act.

WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

payment methods

WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate