Mass shooting at Orlando gay club

[Scripps2]

[CarlosAlberto]

Liza's Headband said: "He was on the No Fly List, as was at least one of the two San Bernardino shooters. To me it's a "no brainer" to have your access restricted from firearms once placed on the NFL but house Republicans don't feel the same way..."

 

If he was on the No Fly List, I wholeheartedly agree with you that his access to firearms should have been prohibited.

The FBI closed the case agents determined that contact was minimal and did not constitute a substantive relationship at that time.

This too me is bullshit! Any contact with a known suicide bomber poses a threat!

The FBI failed. They failed! They have the blood of 50 innocent victims on their hands.

 

 

 

 

[kdogg36]

CarlosAlberto said: "Stop fighting!  Agree to disagree but damn this is a time we should be bonding together not tearing each other apart!"

Definitely this. I disagree with a lot of the opinions on here, both from the left and the right, but we just have to respect our differences and get along. Otherwise we'll just keep getting into fights on here, on Facebook, Twitter, and in real life, too. That's not what any of us need right now.

I say this as someone who has already been in a couple of those fights, so I'm not judging anyone, either. :)

[Margo319]

If anyone here is wondering the status of a loved one, here is the website where they are listing the victims.

 

http://www.cityoforlando.net/blog/victims/

[SNAFU]

Hmmmm according to this, his ex-wife said he considered Disney World. That he ad travelled there. Seems he scouted out the night club as well. If true there are more layers to this.

http://www.aol.com/article/2016/06/13/report-orlando-shooter-scouted-disney-world-for-potential-attac/21394481/

[Jordan Catalano]

People online are trying to spin this now to say that it wasn't actually a gay bar and/or since it's latin night there were mostly straight people there and it wasn't an attack on LGBT people. If you see this, DON'T LET THEM GET AWAY WITH IT. 

[PalJoey]

These are the people who were killed because they were gay.

Because they were out celebrating at a gay dance club.

Because someone was taught to hate gay people.

Don't deny their lives and deaths:

 

Edward Sotomayor Jr., 34 years old
Stanley Almodovar III, 23 years old
Luis Omar Ocasio-Capo, 20 years old
Juan Ramon Guerrero, 22 years old
Eric Ivan Ortiz-Rivera, 36 years old
Peter O. Gonzalez-Cruz, 22 years old
Luis S. Vielma, 22 years old
Kimberly Morris, 37 years old
Eddie Jamoldroy Justice, 30 years old
Darryl Roman Burt II, 29 years old
Deonka Deidra Drayton, 32 years old
Alejandro Barrios Martinez, 21 years old
Anthony Luis Laureanodisla, 25 years old
Jean Carlos Mendez Perez, 35 years old
Franky Jimmy Dejesus Velazquez, 50 years old
Amanda Alvear, 25 years old
Martin Benitez Torres, 33 years old
Luis Daniel Wilson-Leon, 37 years old
Mercedez Marisol Flores, 26 years old
Xavier Emmanuel Serrano Rosado, 35 years old
Gilberto Ramon Silva Menendez, 25 years old
Simon Adrian Carrillo Fernandez, 31 years old
Oscar A Aracena-Montero, 26 years old
Enrique L. Rios, Jr., 25 years old
Miguel Angel Honorato, 30 years old
Javier Jorge-Reyes, 40 years old
Joel Rayon Paniagua, 32 years old
Jason Benjamin Josaphat, 19 years old
Cory James Connell, 21 years old
Juan P. Rivera Velazquez, 37 years old
Luis Daniel Conde, 39 years old
Shane Evan Tomlinson, 33 years old
Juan Chevez-Martinez, 25 years old
Jerald Arthur Wright, 31 years old
Leroy Valentin Fernandez, 25 years old
Tevin Eugene Crosby, 25 years old
Jonathan Antonio Camuy Vega, 24 years old
Jean C. Nives Rodriguez, 27 years old
Rodolfo Ayala-Ayala, 33 years old
Brenda Lee Marquez McCool, 49 years old
Yilmary Rodriguez Sulivan, 24 years old
Christopher Andrew Leinonen, 32 years old
Angel L. Candelario-Padro, 28 years old
Frank Hernandez, 27 years old
Paul Terrell Henry, 41 years old
Antonio Davon Brown, 29 years old
Christopher Joseph Sanfelciz, 24 years old

[PalJoey]

These are the faces of some of those people who were killed because they were gay. Don't minimize their lives to fit your political agenda. They were killed because they were gay.

[ErikJ972]

Jordan Catalano said: "People online are trying to spin this now to say that it wasn't actually a gay bar and/or since it's latin night there were mostly straight people there and it wasn't an attack on LGBT people. If you see this, DON'T LET THEM GET AWAY WITH IT. "

OWEN JONES WALKS OFF SKY NEWS AFTER PRESENTER PLAYS DOWN ANTI-GAY NATURE OF ORLANDO ATTACK

http://attitude.co.uk/guardian-columnist-walks-out-of-sky-news-interview-while-discussing-orlando-shooting/

[EricMontreal22]

This was a gay hate crime.  I am positive that the shooter had no idea if it was latin night, or not--but that is not even the issue.  Obviously anyone who would go to a gay bar, regardless of the night, is gay friendly.

 

http://www.joemygod.com/2016/06/13/mothers-request-orlando-couple-hoped-to-marry-one-day-now-they-will-have-a-joint-funeral/

[Liza's Headband]

It is both a hate crime and an act of terror. Do not allow anyone to claim differently. These are the textbook definitions, and will be classified as such when the FBI concludes its investigation. 

[daisybeetle]

http://gawker.com/orlando-shooter-was-reportedly-a-regular-at-pulse-and-h-1781920316

 

It's Gawker.. but

[PalJoey]

This is not about your stupid political agenda. This is about gay people's lives. Look at their faces. This is not about your political agenda and your need to be smarter than everybody else.

This is about gay people's lives.

http://attitude.co.uk/orlando-gay-club-shooting-the-victims/

[SNAFU]

See, this does not surprise me at all. Something had to trigger the hatred. I do believe it was religiously based self loathing. You mix extreme religious teaching of anti gay dogma, mix with that a same sex attraction and low self worth with a violent personality. He was upset at two men kissing? Or was he upset the sexual feelings that arose in him? You hate that witch tempts you and you destroy it,

 As far as the Disney World suggestion, when is Gay Day down there? Isn't it coming up?

 

[PalJoey]

And the shooter? He was not a "29-year-old Islamic radical."

No. He was "a 29-year-old radical American homophobe with a history of domestic abuse, who likely found some fertile ground for his American homophobia, misogyny and abusiveness in ISIS propaganda."

[ArtMan]

SNAFU said: "See, this does not surprise me at all. Something had to trigger the hatred. I do believe it was religiously based self loathing. You mix extreme religious teaching of anti gay dogma, mix with that a same sex attraction and low self worth with a violent personality. He was upset at two men kissing? Or was he upset the sexual feelings that arose in him? You hate that witch tempts you and you destroy it,

 As far as the Disney World suggestion, when is Gay Day down there? Isn't it coming up?

 

 

It is usually the first weekend in June.

[Hulmeman]

Like many other places around the world, we in Manchester.UK held a vigil this evening to show solidarity with all of you. One of the things we did was to have a mass "hand holding". Here is a video you might find a very small comfort but a show of solidarity with our brothers and sisters in America..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5vibUF11so&sns=fb

 

 

[WhizzerMarvin]

How has Europe responded to the news? Is it a big story over there?

[Jordan Catalano]

There's been extremely large gatherings in London and (I think) Paris, to show solidarity with us. 

[SNAFU]

II find the world wide gatherings touching and also heartening. Saw the Eiffel Tower lit up with the rainbow flag on some news site.

[madbrian]

All around the world, folks are gathering at vigils. Here on BWW, folks are bickering and judging each other. 

[sabrelady]

[Hulmeman]

I can't speak for the rest of Europe, but here in the UK, it is the lead story on our news reports. I've posted a video of our instant response here in Manchester and later we gathered in our "gay space", Sackville Gardens in an act of solidarity attended by many hundreds of people (I can't put an exact figure on it, but it was as many as we get of our pride event) We had music from the Manchester LBGTi choir, poetry readings and speeches from some of our leading actors based here in Manchester. It was moving and heartfelt.

[dented146]

I suspect that this particular jihadist who chose to identify with ISIS was prepared to direct his hate toward any group his father had taught him to hate. Certainly, this was a hate crime directed toward gays. But on any Jewish holiday it could have easily been directed at Jews or perhaps Christians at Easter. Everyone is the enemy and hated by Radical Islam.

This was also an act of terror made worse because assault rifles are too easily available. However, I feel that it is complete nonsense to believe that this act is a gun control problem. But who can honestly believe that it is not made worse by making automatic weapons so easily available.

Our thoughts should be directed toward the victims, their family, and friends. But until we actively seek out and destroy this enemy we are doomed to keep repeating similar posts just as we did after Boston, San Bernadino, and Paris.

[PalJoey]

Please read.

 

===

 

Can We Please Stop Pretending This Massacre Wasn’t About Homophobia?

We are done being erased.

James Michael Nichols

Queer Voices Deputy Editor, The Huffington Post

 

With less than two days between us and the slaughter of 49 lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida — during Pride month, no less — the pain only seems to be getting worse within our community.

But as we begin the process of healing, we must now deal with the non-queer, mainstream public trying to process something that we, as queer people, have always known: people hate us simply for existing as we are in the world.

The reality is we now must face how the media is reporting on this issue — and call it out when they erase the queerness of the victims who suffered in this massacre. And, predictably, many outlets are refusing to center the conversation around exactly what this is: a homophobic, transphobic, racist attack against the LGBT community.

The below interview took place on Sky News Sunday, with two of the participants attempting to center the conversation as a hate crime against humanity and pushing back against openly-LGBT journalist Owen Jones when he argued otherwise.

 

 

Additionally, through print media coverage today, we can see conversations centered around the shooter’s ISIS ties — with no (or only a cursory) mention of the targeted nature of the attack against the LGBT community.

Few things, to me, feel quite as painful as the erasure of the sexual and gender identities of the victims when it comes to reporting on this attack. 

We as LGBT people spent decades being told that we don’t exist or that our lives do not matter. We’ve been murdered in the streets and incarcerated for trying to live authentically as who we are. When we were dying by the thousands from AIDS in the 1980s and 1990s, those in positions of power turned a blind eye.

And now, when are are slaughtered in a nightclub — historically the pinnacle of safe space and community for queer people — the world is trying to erase us once again.

Let me say this loud and clear: this was an invasion and massacre of the queer community.

If you have trouble understanding the idea of a nightclub as a safe, sacred space, then you’ve clearly never been made to feel like your love is illegitimate, incorrect and something that should be hidden away from the world. You’ve clearly never needed a safe space. We always have. 

But we will not hide anymore and we will not allow the media — or anyone — to erase what this situation is really about: 49 queer and trans people, mostly of color, slaughtered in their sacred space during the one time of the year when we are supposedly celebrated by the public.

And if your reporting or conversation is not centered around that idea, then you should do some serious self-reflection. Ask yourself, why am I having trouble accepting that part of the narrative? Why do I so deeply deny that someone could be driven to do something so horrific over an immutable aspect of another’s identity?

We are here, we are queer, we are not afraid — and we will not be silent.

 

[PalJoey]

 

Anderson Cooper reads the names of the dead and a sentence about them.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/13/us/anderson-cooper-reads-orlando-shooting-victims-names/index.html

 

"...He texted his mother from the club, 'Mommy--I love you.' He was 30."