Human Rights Campaign Takes on Gun Control After Orlando Shooting
The Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest LGBT advocacy group, is veering from its normal set of priorities and on Friday announced that it would begin pushing for tighter controls on guns.
The shift, adopted late Thursday by the Human Rights Campaign boards of directors, comes in the wake of the largest mass shooting in the nation’s history. The shooting, which took place at an Orlando gay bar early Sunday morning, killed 49 people and injured another 53. It was a particularly galling attack, not just for its size, but also for its venue.
“Forty-nine members of our community were murdered on Sunday morning because of a toxic combination of two things: a deranged, unstable individual who had been conditioned to hate LGBTQ people, and easy access to military-style guns,” Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin said. “It is imperative that we address both issues in order to mitigate safety risk to our community.”
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