In the wake of multiple mass shootings over the weekend, President Donald Trump called Monday morning for legislation to execute offenders convicted of hate crimes.
In an address from the White House, Trump denounced the “glorification of violence in society” and the ease with which “troubled youths… surround themselves with a culture of violence,” PBS reports. Among a bevy of other policy proposals — including packaging universal background checks with immigration reform — Trump said he would ask the Department of Justice to outline legislation to make it easier to execute hate crime offenders.
“Today, I’m also directing the Department of Justice to propose legislation ensuring that those who commit hate crimes and mass murders face the death penalty, and that this capital punishment be delivered quickly, decisively, and without years of needless delay,” Trump said.
Trump’s comments follow two shootings over the weekend, which left more than sixty people killed or injured. One, a shooting at a Wal-Mart in El Paso, Texas, appears to have been motivated by the gunman’s racist views, with a four-page manifesto released prior to the attack framing the attack as a “response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas.” – READ MORE