This article is dedicated to the people who lost their lives in the shooting at the gay club in Orlando Florida in the early morning of June 12th 2016.
June. Pride month for the LGBT+ community. June for this specific community is usually a time of celebration, parades, and looking back on how far we have come towards the goal of equality. Yet on Sunday morning we woke up to "Fifty Dead Gay Club in Orlando" This is absolutely devastating to the LGBT+ community.
This was the largest mass shooting in United States history. It happened at the Pulse Gay club in Orlando, Florida during their Latin dance night. It left 50 dead and 53 injured, many of them being people of color. This event was a terrorist hate crime against the LGBT+ community.
We may have achieved marriage equality, but it is still not safe to be LGBT+ in the United States of America.This was a premeditated act and it shows in frightfully clear terms that homophobia is still alive and well in the United States of America. LGBTQ+ POC are some of the most at-risk individuals in this country.
So with parades and pride celebrations still coming up, if you are apart of the community I urge you to stay safe. If you do go bring friends, LGBT+ or not, bring someone. Prepare a place to meet up in case something like this does happen. Bring/buy portable chargers so you always have a way to contact each other. Please be safe. The LGBT+ community doesn't want to lose you too.
This time last year the community was eagerly await a decision from the supreme court, but now we will be mourning the people we have lost from this wonderful community. It just shows how much can change in a matter of twenty four hours.
Death and Injury toll as of June 12th 5:11 pm (PST)
Dead: 50
Injured: 53