In the early hours of June 12, 2016, there was a shooting at Pulse, an LGBTQ+ nightclub located in Orlando, Florida. A gunman named Omar Mir Seddique Mateen entered Pulse and started firing at everyone in the club. This ended with 50 people dead, friends and families mourning the victims, and the shooting being called the worst massacre in U.S. History.

This tragedy hits close to home for me because I am from Orlando. I had friends who were actually going to go to Pulse and thankfully, they chose not to. While I am happy that they are okay, I, along with many other friends and families of the victims, am in mourning. No one ever thinks that their city will ever deal with anything as serious as this and no one is ever prepared for the outcome. Not only was this an attack on U.S. soil, but an attack on the LGBTQ+ community. Everyone who attended Pulse were people who wanted to go out and have a wonderful time, but ended up being killed, wounded, and/or traumatized by this entire experience. Some are thankful that their loved one is safe, while others are in mourning over the death of someone they lost.

It is scary to think that this can happen in Orlando of all places. A place where I used to believe was one of the safest cities in the country is now the location the worst mass shooting in our history. That is an awful feeling and one piece of history that will not be forgotten by others anytime soon. Many celebrities and political figures, such as Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, and Nick Jonas, shared their condolences on Twitter:

Many people in Orlando have marked themselves or others as safe on Facebook in order to let others know they're safe:

The LA Pride parade went on despite the shooting. Some say it was not the right to have the parade, however, it did make people feel better and remind them that their rights matter and that they should be positive and go on for those we have lost along the way.

The Orlando Massacre is a tragedy that has now opened up several conversations our country needs to discuss: the severity of gun laws, the acts of homophobia in the United States, the possibility of Domestic Terrorism, and the safety of the American people.

As of right now, more than fifty people are gone and their lives were taken away too soon. As a nation, we should not just #prayfororlando, but pray for the LGBTQ+ community and find a way to come together and make sure something like this never happens again.