Tag: pulse shooting

cophaught:

this pride month just a year ago we were celebrating nationwide gay marriage and the reaction was ecstatic. now we’re standing in the devastation of america’s largest mass shooting on a gay club. so fuck everyone who thought lgbt+ rights started and ended with legalising gay marriage. homophobia is present and real and dangerous.

50 dead and 53 hospitalized after mass shooting at Florida gay nightclub.

hellotailor:

In one of the worst mass shootings in U.S. history, 50 people have been killed and 53 injured at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida. Pulse is one of Orlando’s most popular gay clubs and was hosting a Latin-themed night at the time.

The attack began at around 2am on Sunday morning, with a single gunman opening fire and taking hostages inside the club. Police entered three hours later, killing the gunman.

According to the Mass Shooting Tracker, this is the 173rd U.S. mass shooting this year. We are only 164 days into 2016.

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50 dead and 53 hospitalized after mass shooting at Florida gay nightclub.

stellasgibson:

This isn’t just another shooting. 

This is now officially, with over 50 casualties, the worst mass shooting in United States history. And the fact that it took place at a gay club was not merely coincidence. This was not just another act of senseless violence in America. This was a hate crime. 

A man walked into a safe space for the LGBT community with an assault rifle and lined them up and slaughtered them. 

Don’t do what the media is inevitably going to do. Don’t erase where this happened and who this happened to.

When you make your statements for/against gun control, remember this was a hate crime. When you make your statements about the gunman’s reported religious beliefs, remember this was a hate crime. When your politicians make empty promises about changing the way things are, remember this was a hate crime. When you make your statements about the media’s coverage of this, remind everyone this was hate crime. 

Do not gloss over the identities of the victims. They were killed for them. This was a hate crime. 

i’m tired of thoughts and prayers

saader:

Your thoughts and prayers aren’t enough. 

Keep them.

Without them, you feel helpless, don’t you.

Good.

That’s what it’s like to go head to head with an AK-15, the gun that was used both in Orlando and Newton. You are helpless. Maybe some goddamn empathy with the victims will lead to some actual gun reform in this country. 

Imagine being in their shoes. Imagine being 5 and going to kindergarten and finding yourself looking up the barrel of an automatic weapon, a weapon of mass destruction. Imagine going out to a club, to one of the only venues in which you can feel free to be exactly who you are without judgement and fear of homophobia, imagine that place destroyed before your very eyes. It’s terrifying. And it could happen to anyone. After Sandy Hook we said never again. And then we let 998 mass shootings happen. The United States of America, the only country in the world where mass shootings are everyday. Aren’t you proud of us?

Thoughts and prayers are not enough. And that sentence has been perverted by the congressmen and senators who will only offer their thoughts and prayers and little else by way of substance in the legislature. So what is enough? It will be enough when you’re shocked to hear about a shooting, that’s how infrequent they are. Look at Canada. Look at Australia. 

We need to do better.

Write your congressman and tell them how this is UNACCEPTABLE. Find out which of your elected representatives takes donations from the NRA. If you’re in the Orlando area, donate blood and plasma. AND WHEN NOVEMBER ELECTIONS COME, VOTE FOR THE REPRESENTATIVES THAT OPPOSITE GUNS AND THE NRA: ontheissues.org

This election could be the turn of the tide. If an anti-gun majority can take the House and Senate, I believe we have a real shot at REAL, PERMANENT reform. People say that if we couldn’t do it after Newtown, we’ll never be able to make real gun reform in the Unites States. 

So keep your thoughts and prayers. What we need to do is prove to the world that they’re wrong about us. We need to prove to ourselves that they’re wrong about us. Vote, donate, let your voice be heard. Register to vote if you haven’t already. When you’re done with all that, hug your loved ones tight and appreciate what many families and friends and loved ones are no longer able to do.