There are many causes for what happened last night. The family of the perpetrator, and his ex wife, are saying that he wasn’t particularly religious, and that he absolutely hated LGBT people. So homophobia is a cause of this. The easy access to firearms is another cause of this. There’s breaking news about ISIS potentially, so that conflict might have something to do with this. There are other causes as well.
But the people who hate us, who pass bathroom bills against us, who provided the legal protections to the terrorist allowing him to acquire the weapon of war he used against us in Orlando last night, who themselves are complicit in this act through their reckless and irresponsible policies, are now trying to use our dead as a way to attack Muslims.
It is a desecration of our dead, and an attempt to hide their own complicity in this, and every other mass shooting they have enabled by guaranteeing that the tools of mass murder are widely available.
This is the worst terrorist attack on US soil since 9/11.
It happened at an LGBT club, on Latinx night, during pride month.
It was an act of hate. And the GOP and their idiot leader are trying to use this act of hate to create even more hate. They don’t care about us, but they’re happy to use our dead bodies as a cudgel to beat the US Muslim community.
Well you know who the highest-elected Muslim leader in the us is? Kieth Ellison, co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. He’s an ally of the LGBT community, he fights for us, for marriage equality and for the rights of all. He, and a great many of the Muslims I follow on social media were expressing shock, horror, and outrage before anyone knew who perpetrated this attack.
American Muslims are standing in solidarity with us, and have been all along. Just like American Catholics, Protestants, Atheists, Pagans, and a myriad of other groups. And every one of those groups has problems with Sexism and Homophobia, just like any other group. And we’ll call it out when we see it, because we all have places where we need to be better.
But we won’t let the GOP, the Klan, and other white nationalists use our dead to attack our allies, divide us, and stir up bigotry and hatred. This was an act of hatred. Let us sow peace in its wake, not create more bigotry.
CodePink DC has called for a Candlelight Vigil tonight at the White House, at 8:30. I’ll be there. There’s also a rally at the capitol at the same time, which I may attend as well. If you search twitter or Facebook, you’ll find a rally or vigil somewhere nearby. If you can attend, please do.
Straight allies, if you’re outraged, if you’re upset, keep saying so. Knowing that you have our back is important.
Sunday, Jun 12, 2016 · 9:28:37 PM +00:00 · OllieGarkey
The city of Orlando has released the first few names of those dead whose families have been contacted. They are:
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
Monday, Jun 13, 2016 · 2:21:26 AM +00:00
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OllieGarkey
I’m back from the DC Vigil. A massive crowd turned out. There was an open mic for speakers, but I was personally a bit too overwhelmed to say anything. The Gay Men’s chorus came by and we all sang “We Shall Overcome” and the National Anthem.
It was really beautiful.