The Orlando Massacre: A Reminder of the Dangers LGBT People Live with Every Day Michelangelo Signorile - Queer Voices
go to original June 12, 2016

President Obama Speaks on Worst Mass Shooting in U.S. History (CBS New York)

We still know very few details about the horrific, heartbreaking mass shooting in an Orlando gay club, Pulse, where 50 people have been killed and over 50 more were injured. Omar S. Mateen of Port St. Lucie, Florida, is reported to have entered the club and soon went on a shooting rampage. It’s not yet been confirmed as a hate crime, a terror attack or random shooting.

Whatever the case, a Pride month night of celebration and fun — the weekly Latin Night at the popular club, focused on Latin music, performances and dancing — turned into a morning of mass death and devastation. It happened in an area where LGBT people feel welcome and accepted. Orlando has a large and diverse LGBT community, one in which, like so many across the country, many LGBT people surely feel comfortable and safe.

But the brutal reality that jarred Orlando’s LGBT community, and the entire nation, is something that LGBT have always experienced, as gay and lesbian bars and clubs have been targeted in the past by those who harbor hate toward LGBT people. And it’s a reminder — whatever the motives — of the animus against us, and the ever present danger, with which we still live.

...Hate crimes against LGBT people haven’t dissipated since the arrival of marriage equality and have in fact been on the rise in recent years. While we still know very little about this morning’s brutal massacre at Pulse in Orlando, this terrible tragedy is a reminder of the threat of violence against LGBT every day, and that we must always remain vigilant.

Read the rest at HuffPost Queer Voices

Related: Three Mexicans Killed in Orlando Shooting, Mexican President Says (Reuters)

Related: The Orlando Shooting Is a Haunting Reminder of Just How Many Guns Are in America (TIME)

Related: Photos: The World Remembers the Victims of the Orlando Shooting (teleSUR)

Related: Donald Trump Faces Backlash for Tweets About Orlando Shooting (TIME)

Related: Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders Issue Statements Condemning Orlando Terror Attack and Mass Shooting (The New Civil Rights Movement)

Related: Here’s How Long It Will Take America to Forget About the Orlando Massacre (Think Progress)

Related: It’s 2016 and Two Men Kissing Is Still a Stunning, Terrifying Sight (The Huffington Post Voices)

Related: Orlando Shooter’s Father - Self-Proclaimed 'Afghan President' (VOA News)

Related: U.S. Racists Respond to Mass Shooting at LGBT Nightclub In Orlando (The Southern Poverty Law Center)

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