Marc Hennemann, Republican candidate for Congress in the Second District, has released the following statement concerning last night’s terrorist attack in Orlando:

“I am deeply shocked and saddened by the attack on the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando last night. My prayers and thoughts and those of my family are with the victims of this terrorist attack and their families and loved ones. As a former resident of the Orlando area my heart goes out to those who suffered the loss or injury of loved ones in this brutal massacre.

ISIS has officially claimed responsibility for this horrific attack. It is time for the administration to acknowledge that we are at war with the so-called Islamic State. We must realize that ISIS is out there. It is in the Middle East. It is in Europe, in Paris, in Brussels, in Madrid, in London. Now it has struck in Orlando. It cannot be bargained with. It cannot be reasoned with. It’s supporters don’t feel pity, or remorse, or any other civilized emotion, and they absolutely will not stop until western civilization is dead. As long as radical Islam and western civilization exist, we cannot live together in peace. Eventually one or the other will triumph - a funeral dirge will be sung either over ISIS or over western civilization.

This is an issue of national security, not an issue of gun control. President Obama politicizes this brutal massacre by linking it to gun control while the bodies of the dead are still warm, while their loved ones still wonder if their friends and relatives are still alive, while the blood still flows from the wounded. This is not a time for making political points. It is a time for all Americans, no matter their race, religion, ethnic background or sexual orientation to unite in mourning for the victims in Orlando and in firm opposition to the terrorists who would destroy our cherished way of life.”