Editorial: Anti-LGBT Hate Caused This

While some right wing outlets and commentators are discounting or ignoring the identities of the victims in Orlando, the editorial board of the Detroit Free Press gets right to the heart of it. They write:

Let’s start here: The Pulse nightclub shootings — the largest mass murder in American history, claiming at least 50 lives — were an act of hate targeting the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

Saturday night, a shooter armed with an assault-style rifle entered the Orlando gay bar around 2 a.m. For the next three hours, the gunman terrorized the club, apparently calling 911 to pledge his allegiance to ISIS between attacks.

That — and the shooter’s apparent Muslim background — are details some contemptible wretches have leapt on to explain — and thus excuse — these deaths.

It’s an attempt to dodge responsibility for what’s really wrong.

In the days to come, we’ll learn much, much more about the tragedy in Orlando. But at its core, this attack is the product of two things: easy civilian access to weapons that kill dozens in minutes, and the persistence of political rhetoric that marginalizes LGBT people.

(Photo by Stanley Wolfersberger)