Minnesota’s congressional delegation reacts to Orlando shootings

Congressman Keith Ellison says he’s “grieving with the L-G-B-T community.” Senator Al Franken says the victims shot early Sunday at a gay nightclub in Orlando were killed by “someone with hate in his heart and an assault rifle in his hands.”   Both Franken and Ellison issued statements online which lament the prevalence of gun violence in America. Franken’s statement, posted on his Facebook page, closed with a question: “How many tragedies…will the nation have to endure,” Franken asked, “…before we find the moral conviction to do something about gun violence?”

Ellison says the incident is “yet another reminder” that congress must pass a ban on assault weapons. Authorities say the shooter in Orlando used an A-R-15. Ellison says that kind of assault weapon does not belong “in civilian hands.” Ellison, who’s the first Muslim American election to congress, also says “no religion justifies” the kind of senseless attack that happened Sunday morning in Orlando.

Senator Amy Klobuchar sent a Tweet out Sunday, saying she was “deeply saddened by the attack in Orlando” and is praying for the victims and their families.