Statement of Madison Mayor Paul Soglin on Orlando Shootings

We ask if the weapons were obtained legally or illegally. We ask if it was an act of terrorism or of hatred, or of both. These distinctions do not matter.

Once again, innocent and good people who loved and were loved by family and friends, are dead - the victims of the obscene firepower available in this country sponsored by the National Rifle Association (NRA).

We need to stand up to the NRA and the peddlers of death.

There is a range of reasonable steps that can be taken without infringing on the provision of the Second Amendment, which ensures the establishment of a well-regulated militia: weapons registration, owner registration, background checks, waiting periods, and control on weapons sales. Limitations on firepower are reasonable, sensible actions.

Here in Madison we feel compassion and pain for those who perished; who deserved to live their lives in happiness and love. Our hearts go out to their families and loved ones and to the people of Orlando. I have conveyed our sympathies to Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer.