After hearing about and seeing what happened in a gay nightclub in Orlando on June 12, 2016, I posted the following status on Facebook: “I'm absolutely sickened by the fact that a human being thinks that it's okay to kill any other human being ever. I am saddened by the fact that people are not always safe when they are being themselves. I am angered by the fact that the people running my country are pointing fingers at the Middle East and the Islamic faith rather than taking responsibility for the actions of their own citizens. Being gay is not a sin. Being a Muslim is not a sin. Murder is a sin.” I would like to elaborate on this a little bit further now.

First, let me present what may be considered my own personal bias in regards to some of these issues. I am a heterosexual white female who was raised in a Catholic family, although I currently just identify as spiritual. I have many friends who are homosexual. Sometimes on the weekend I go to Tilt, a gay club in Rochester, to have a fun night out with my friends. I have traveled abroad and have lots of friends who identify with the Islamic faith. None of them are violent people.

Now, let me start with claim number one: being gay is not a sin. The primary concern of this hate crime is just that - it was a hate crime against the LBGTQ+ community. In such a progressive world, I am shocked that some people can still be so closed-minded. LBGTQ+ people should have the same rights as their heterosexual counterparts and should be able to celebrate every aspect of themselves without fear of being a target or a victim.

My second claim, I feel, is just as immense an issue: being a Muslim is not a sin. I was very disturbed by the newscast I was watching, which explained that Mateen, the murderer from the incident, was Middle Eastern. Rather than focusing on the lives that were lost and the issue of LBGTQ+ safety and equality in the United States, the media immediately used this tragedy to instill Islamophobia in the masses.

In the 15 minutes I was watching this newscast, the reporters stated how important it is to take into consideration that this "Afghan" man was murdering U.S. citizens. Take a closer look, however, and you’ll be able to find out that Mateen was, in fact, an American-born citizen. Furthermore, when a U.S. senator was asked how he would describe this incident to his children, he immediately said he would tell them that there is a group of violent people who believe only their religion is the right religion.

We need to stop pointing fingers at the Middle East and take responsibility for the actions of our own people. If we're going to be grouping masses of people based on a select few, the people of the U.S. are downright barbaric! Our society needs to stop making Islamic people look like terrorists. ISIS is one very small group of the diverse and overall compassionate people who practice the Islamic religion.

However, I believe my third claim is the most fundamental of them all: murder is a sin. When we strip away our race, ethnicity, religion, nationality, economic status, gender and sexuality, we are all human beings who are capable of tremendous love and compassion. When a human is able to justify taking the life of another human, our societies have failed. We need to build a global community based on our connection as one species.

Taking time to reflect on this tragedy has reminded me how much fear and misunderstanding is in the world and in my country at this time. However, it also reminded me to reflect on similarities rather than differences, because we are all so much more connected than we will ever know. I hope that despite this awful incident, we can all take some time to reflect on our own morals and spread a little bit of extra love to those around us.