I am so deeply saddened by what happened in Orlando, it makes me sick to my stomach if I'm completely honest. 50 people have lost their life for no reason at all. I cannot even fathom what would go through someone's mind to kill 50 innocent people and injure 53 others.
I won't mention the gunman's name as I feel like he's already had too much media coverage which is what he wanted, and I'm not going to give him that. There's a lot of speculation as to whether he was involved with ISIS or not and I don't think that should necessarily be the focus here.
There are two parts to this problem, the main one being, America - why the hell do you think you need guns to protect yourself, and two, we need to be teaching love and acceptance so things like this do not happen.
This has been the deadliest mass shooting in US history and the nightclub was targeted for the specific reason that it was a gay bar and the gunman was upset having seen two men kiss in public previously. This was a deliberate attack on the LGBTQ+ community, a statement, if you would, towards them. An American born citizen believes there should be something done and sent a message to the community, In this, sick mans mind, being gay is not okay.
Well guess what? GAY IS OKAY. Gun laws in America will probably never change as a lot of people feel it's their right to carry a gun to protect themselves, when in fact it's doing the complete opposite. In America you can literally go into any shop and purchase a gun, that means, any Tom, Dick or Harry can get a gun. There has been so many reports over the years of babies accidentally shooting their mother when they find her gun in her handbag, or of it accidentally going off and killing someone. Never mind the stupid number of people who carry out mass shootings all over America. I really do not understand the mentality of carrying a gun to protect yourself. Murder is illegal in America, so why give an everyday American a weapon which sole purpose is to end a life? It just does not make sense logically.
There has also been speculation as to whether the gunman in this attack was mentally ill, which I think is a point we need to pick up. I am not by any means condoning what he did. It was unforgivable and it has shocked the whole of the world, but if he was mentally ill it just proves how gun law needs to be changed in America. Some mental illnesses can make your perception of the world and reality, so in your mind, killing people could be what's right. If that is the case, obviously you should't be able to get a hold of a gun. But in America, you can go into a store and purchase a gun, there's no background checks, nothing. Not every person who buys a gun will be safe with it. That's something everyone in America needs to realise. How many more innocent people will die until the whole of the country realise this?
There was a tweet that I re-tweeted yesterday and it contained some facts that I think are so important when talking about gun law, and if gun law should be a thing in America.
1 shooting in the UK since gun laws were put in place in 1997
0 mass shootings in Australia since gun laws were put into place
372 mass shootings in the US just last year.
When will America wake up and see that their gun laws need to be changed? How many more innocent lives are going to be lost? I cannot imagine the pain and suffering the families of those 50 innocent people are going through. They lost a love one for no reason at all and I can't imagine the way they are feeling right now.
One small, good thing that has come out of this is how the whole world has come together to support the LGBTQ+ community and to condemn the shooter. All over my Facebook and my Twitter, people have been re-tweeting their disgust that this has happened and the hashtag #loveislove. I am proud of our community supporting the LGBTQ+ and telling them that we do not support this targeted attack on their community. I am part of the LGBTQ+ community, although not a active member it's a community that I feel connected with and I love. We have all come together in this time and I'm so proud of the people who have spoken out publicly about this.
We need to teach love and acceptance. We are all one human race with one goal in life: to live and be happy. Deep down we are all the same, it doesn't matter your skin colour, your gender, your sexuality, or where you come from. We are all humans and we need to strive to love each other and accept each other.
My thoughts go out to the families affected by this horrific attack. We all need to take a stand and ensure this never happens again. I for one, will be marching in Gay Pride this year with my rainbow flag held high. Do not allow this event to be swept under the rug and forgotten. Something needs to be done.
Love is love.
Stay awesome.
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