Some gay activists, with the assistance of the mainstream media, are apparently blaming conservatives for the Islamic terror attack at the Pulse gay night club in Orlando — one of the worst mass shootings in U.S. history — by citing “anti-LGBT” laws as a cause.

One publicist sent out an email Tuesday afternoon, suggesting journalists explore a presumed link between the Orlando shooting and “anti-LGBT” laws passed in several states: “While other motives may have inspired the attack, which killed 49 people, advocates say the rate of hate crimes against LGBT people goes up when there is a debate over their rights.” He linked to a McClatchy article entitled, “Hundreds of bills to curb LGBT rights preceded Orlando attack. Is there a link?”

The authors write:

While other motives may have inspired the attack … advocates say the rate of hate crimes against LGBT people goes up when there is a debate over their rights. The sponsors of the various bills say they are not intended to promote violence against LGBT people. Rather, the supporters say they want to protect the religious freedom of people who oppose same-sex marriage, or the concerns of people who feel uncomfortable using the same restroom as transgender individuals.

The article specifically explores whether legislation regarding the “transgender bathroom” debate, such as North Carolina’s recent law requiring individuals to use public restrooms according to their biological sex, is responsible for an increased amount of anti-LGBT hate crimes. (The “T” is only the last letter of LGBT — “lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender”.)

In addition, McClatchy explores whether state laws designed to protect religious freedom and traditional marriage, among other laws, might have had some effect on the motivations of a radical Islamic terrorist who may have had gay tendencies.

The answer, from the bills’ defenders, is uniformly “no” — but merely posing the question makes the desired political point.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. His new book, See No Evil: 19 Hard Truths the Left Can’t Handle, will be published by Regnery on July 25 and is available for pre-order through Amazon. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.