SUMMARY: Rubana Khan of Orlando, in heartfelt verse, sends apologies from her Islamic family to the families of the victims of Sunday’s mass shooting. In doing so, she lays bare the pain the killer, Omar Mateen, has caused her and other Muslims, who consider their religion one of peace, not of violence or hatred.
SUMMARY: The AR-15 is the most popular rifle in America, and the most reviled. A civilian variant of the U.S. military's standard-issue M16, the AR-15 has gained recent notoriety for its use in mass shootings in Newtown, Aurora, San Bernardino and Orlando's Pulse nightclub; the gun is also the centerpiece of an ongoing high-profile lawsuit against gun manufacturers. John Yang reports.
Editor's note:This story focused on the AR-15 rifle, which was the weapon used in several recent mass shootings. Orlando law enforcement officials initially said this was the same gun type used in the Pulse nightclub shooting, but later clarified that the Orlando shooter was using a Sig Sauer MCX. The Sig Sauer MCX is a rifle with several similarities to the AR 15-style and was originally designed for use by U.S. special operation forces. The NewsHour regrets the confusion.
JOHN YANG (NewsHour):The NRA says it's America's most popular rifle, used legally and safely by millions of people. A lawyer for victims' families says it's the gold standard for mass murder of innocent civilians.
The AR-15 has been used in some of the nation's worst mass shootings; at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut; a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado; an Oregon community college; and now an Orlando gay club.
To learn more about the rifle, its popularity among gun enthusiasts and its place in American culture, we went to a Northern Virginia gun range to speak with former Deputy Assistant Defense Secretary Phillip Carter, himself a gun owner, who knows the AR-15 well from his service as an Army officer.
Why is this weapon so popular?
PHILLIP CARTER, Former Defense Department Official:So, the AR-15 is America's rifle because it's what America's military carries.
It's modeled on the M-16 that's been carried by America's Army and America's Marine Corps and the rest of our services since Vietnam. Today, roughly 20,000 troops carry a similar rifle in Iraq and Afghanistan, and even those who don't serve feel that they're part of that effort when they carry the AR-15.
JOHN YANG: I have read that the recoil is a bit gentler than some other rifles.
PHILIP CARTER: So, the recoil on the M-16 or the AR-15 is designed to be light, so that you can keep it on target and continue to shoot bullet after bullet after bullet. It's by design.
There's a massive spring here in the stock that absorbs quite a bit of the recoil. There's also, by design, a gas system that takes a lot of the gas from the firing of each bullet, and it evaporates it, so that when each bullet is fired, that gas and that recoil isn't coming back on the shoulder each time, but it's actually in the rifle in a more constructive manner.
JOHN YANG: And that feature would also allow a shooter to keep steady.
PHILIP CARTER:It's a military rifle. It's designed to deliver masses of bullets to a very specific target over time. This is a weapon designed to kill in mass quantities. It's a military weapon.
SUMMARY: A day after America woke to news of a horrific mass shooting at a Florida gay nightclub, a disturbing portrait of 29-year-old gunman Omar Mateen — who was on the FBI's radar — began to emerge. Director James Comey defended his agents' multiple investigations of Mateen, whose ex-wife said he was full of hate, and who President Obama called a homegrown extremist. William Brangham reports.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM (NewsHour): There was relative calm outside the Pulse nightclub this morning, a far remove from the chaos of 24 hours earlier. Amateur video captured the terror, gunshots shattering the party atmosphere inside the club.
The man firing the shots was 29-year-old Omar Mateen, ultimately killed by a SWAT team inside. Police said today they have no regrets about storming the club.
JOHN MINA, Chief, Orlando Police Department: Based on information we received from the suspect, and from the hostages, and people inside, we believed further loss of life was imminent. I made the decision to commence the rescue operation and do the explosive breach.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: During the attack, Mateen called 911 dispatchers and pledged loyalty to the Islamic State.
Today, ISIS radio released an audio statement calling him a soldier of the caliphate. And officials in Saudi Arabia confirmed he'd visited their country twice for pilgrimages.
But, in Washington, FBI Director James Comey said there's every reason to think Mateen acted on his own.
JAMES COMEY, Director, FBI: There are strong indications of radicalization by this killer and of potential inspiration by foreign terrorist organizations. So far, we see no indication that this was a plot directed from outside the United States, and we see no indication that he was part of any kind of network.
WILLIAM BRANGHAM: The FBI had investigated Mateen on suspicions of terrorist sympathies, but the results were inconclusive, and Comey defended his agents' work.
JAMES COMEY: Our investigation involved introducing confidential sources to him, recording conversations with him, following him, reviewing transactional records from his communications, and searching all government holdings for any possible connections, any possible derogatory information.
SUMMARY: The Orlando mass shooting put a new focus on efforts to pass hate crime laws — and the sobering reality that LGBT Americans are more than twice as likely to be the target of a violent hate-crime than Muslims or African-Americans. Gwen Ifill talks to Rachel Tiven of Lambda Legal and Mark Potok of the Southern Poverty Law Center on how recent LGBT rights successes may be stoking more anti-gay violence.
SUMMARY: The mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando Sunday represents the intersection of several heated political debates, including national security, the status of Muslims in America, and the battle over gun control. For more on how lawmakers are responding to the tragedy, Judy Woodruff talks to Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Rep. Will Hurd, R-Tex.
SUMMARY: A mother of two. An Army reservist. A cancer survivor. A gay rights activist. A high school basketball star. These are some of the victims of the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. The Newshour steps back to remember the names and faces of the 49 whose lives were cut short Sunday.
SUMMARY: Pres. Barack Obama said Sunday that he stands in support with the LGBT community after a gunman killed 50 people at a popular gay nightclub in Orlando. Carlos Smith of Equality Rights, a group that advocates for LGBT rights, joins Hari Sreenivasan to discuss what the attack means to the community.
HARI SREENIVASAN (NewsHour):President Obama noted that today's mass shooting is especially painful for gay and lesbian Americans as a club where they socialized in solidarity was the target. To discuss what the Orlando mass shooting means for the LGBT community, I am joined by Carlos Smith from Equality Florida, a group that fights for LGBT rights. Tell us a bit about the community that was affected today.
CARLOS SMITH, EQUALITY FLORIDA: Sure. Well, our entire community is devastated, and Equality Florida sends its thoughts and prayers to all of those who were affected by this tragedy. This tragedy happened at a popular nightclub, Pulse Orlando, a gay nightclub. It happened during LGBTQ Pride Month. It happened at a time when the club was at maximum capacity. So it's clear that the shooter had every intent of inflicting the maximum amount of violence and damage.
And I think what's really important to understand is that the LGBTQ community has gone to gay nightclubs like Pulse Orlando and places around the country for decades, since the days of Stonewall, as a place where people can be safe, as a place where people can with who they are and have a sense of community.
So we're devastated to see this type of violence. But I think it's also important that people understand that the central Florida LGBTQ community is standing in solidarity also with the Muslim and Islamic community. Both of our communities have been targets of violence, of hate and of discrimination.
HARI SREENIVASAN: Is there a history of disproportionate discrimination or just any discrimination against the LGBT community in Florida, in central Florida?
CARLOS SMITH: Well, what we've seen unfortunately in the last couple of years is there has been a rash of violence, particularly against transgender women of color. There was a hate crime murder incident that happened actually recently in Florida that was devastating to the community that targeted a transgender black woman.
And what we're seeing now is that even in the year 2016, hate and bigotry still exists. And we're doing what we can in our communities, at the local level, at the state level, at the national level, to eradicate all forms of hate and discrimination, and to make sure that we fight against all phobias. Not just homophobia, not just transphobia, but also against Islamophobia.
SUMMARY: The attack that killed 50 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando was a devastating blow to the local community. Managing Editor of the Orlando Sentinel joins Hari Sreenivasan via Skype to discuss the latest developments.
SUMMARY: When a terror attack occurs in the U.S. -- often it can provoke a change in policy which may or may not be in the country's best interest. Stephen Biddle of the Council of Foreign Affairs and Policy joins Hari Sreenivasan for some analysis on what policymakers can do to respond to these attacks.
I am Retired U.S. Navy (22yrs) and a Vietnam Veteran. After my Navy retirement I was in the computer related industry, now retired. In 2000 I was a registered Republican and voted for George W. Bush. Six months of having Bush in the Whitehouse forced me to re-evaluate my political stance. I had always thought of myself as a Moderate Republican, but was a Republican by "default" NOT because of close examination of the GOP. Due to what has happened in America since 2000, I now consider myself a progressive, and registered as a Non-Affiliated voter.
*Anti-First Amendment policies that attempt to turn America into a theocracy by enshrining ANY religious belief as law.
* Any attempt to suppress human or Constitutional rights.
* Any law or policy that supports discrimination based on religion, ethnicity, race/color, gender, sexual orientation, or any law that does NOT support Equal Treatment under the law.
*Any law or policy that attempts to suppress Freedom of the Press or Free Speech.
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