2016 -- H 8353

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LC006218

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2016

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H O U S E   R E S O L U T I O N

EXPRESSING DEEPEST CONDOLENCES TO THE FAMILIES OF THE VICTIMS OF THE

JUNE 12, 2016, ORLANDO, FLORIDA, NIGHTCLUB MASSACRE

     Introduced By: Representatives Ruggiero, Carson, McKiernan, O`Grady, and Marshall

     Date Introduced: June 15, 2016

     Referred To: House read and passed

     WHEREAS, On June 12, 2016, a lone gun man entered the LGBT nightclub Pulse in

Orlando, Florida, and opened fire with an AR-15 style rifle and handgun, killing forty-nine

individuals and wounding 53 others before being killed by members of the Orlando Police

Department's SWAT team, according to authorities. This act of domestic terrorism is the deadliest

incident in American history of violence against the LGBT community and is the deadliest attack

on United States soil since 9-11; and

     WHEREAS, The massacre was immediately labeled as an act of terrorism and a hate

crime by President Barack Obama, the Orlando Police Chief and other authorities. The suspect, a

United States citizen, had been accused in the past of voicing hateful statements towards gays,

African-Americans, women and Jews; and

     WHEREAS, This cowardly massacre was an assault on all the freedoms and liberties that

we, as free people hold dear. It was an attack against free association and against our way of life

as Americans, and we must unite and work together to fight this kind of hatred and violence; and

     WHEREAS, Most Americans are tolerant and compassionate people and it was

heartening to see that in the midst of this terrible tragedy, the Orlando community rallied around

the victims. Hundreds of people immediately lined up to donate their blood to those who were

wounded, and within twenty-four hours, more than a million dollars had been raised to aid the

victims and their families; now, therefore be it

     RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island and

Providence Plantations hereby expresses its deepest condolences to the families of the victims of

the Orlando nightclub shooting; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to

transmit a duly certified copies of this resolution to the Honorable Barack Obama, President of

the United States, and to Rick Scott, Governor of the State of Florida.

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