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
Eddie Jamoldroy Justice, 30 years old
Darryl Roman Burt II, 29 years old
Deonka Deidra Drayton, 32 years old
Alejandro Barrios Martinez, 21 years old
Anthony Luis Laureanodisla, 25 years old
Jean Carlos Mendez Perez, 35 years old
Franky Jimmy Dejesus Velazquez, 50 years old
Amanda Alvear, 25 years old
Martin Benitez Torres, 33 years old
Luis Daniel Wilson-Leon, 37 years old
Mercedez Marisol Flores, 26 years old
Xavier Emmanuel Serrano Rosado, 35 years old
Gilberto Ramon Silva Menendez, 25 years old
Simon Adrian Carrillo Fernandez, 31 years old
Oscar A Aracena-Montero, 26 years old
Enrique L. Rios, Jr., 25 years old
Miguel Angel Honorato, 30 years old
Javier Jorge-Reyes, 40 years old
Joel Rayon Paniagua, 32 years old
Jason Benjamin Josaphat, 19 years old
Cory James Connell, 21 years old
Juan P. Rivera Velazquez, 37 years old
Luis Daniel Conde, 39 years old
Shane Evan Tomlinson, 33 years old
Juan Chevez-Martinez, 25 years old
Jerald Arthur Wright, 31 years old
Leroy Valentin Fernandez, 25 years old
Tevin Eugene Crosby, 25 years old
Jonathan Antonio Camuy Vega, 24 years old
Jean C. Nives Rodriguez, 27 years old
Rodolfo Ayala-Ayala, 33 years old
Brenda Lee Marquez McCool, 49 years old
Yilmary Rodriguez Sulivan, 24 years old
Christopher Andrew Leinonen, 32 years old
Angel L. Candelario-Padro, 28 years old
Frank Hernandez, 27 years old
Paul Terrell Henry, 41 years old
Antonio Davon Brown, 29 years old
Christopher Joseph Sanfeliz, 24 years old
These are the names that have been released so far of the victims of the homophobic shooting in Orlando.
May they rest in peace and be reborn among their loved ones. May their partners, lovers, friends, and families find peace. May they rest in the loving arms of the Universe, in the place between the worlds, and return to us in love and joy.
This shooting is the end result of a society that tolerates homophobia, transphobia, and hate speech calling for violence towards LGBT people.
It is also a result of how easy it is for people to get access to guns in America. Countries that have gun control do not have 1052 gun massacres in the space of 1066 days. Every statistic backs this up. CNN agrees:
“(Access to) firearms (is) a significant predictor of these incidents,” Lankford said.The United States has more guns than any other country in the world. There are an estimated 270 million to 310 million firearms in circulation in the United States. With the American population at 319 million, that breaks down to nearly one firearm for every American.Slightly more than one-third of Americans say someone in their home owns a gun, according to the Pew Research Center. …The numbers do show that more restrictive gun laws make a difference. Lankford points to Australia as an example. The country had four mass shootings between 1987 and 1996. After those incidents, public opinion turned against gun ownership and Parliament passed stricter gun laws. Australia hasn’t had a mass shooting since.
If you cannot see the connection between homophobic and transphobic hate speech and the murder of LGBT people: the people with homophobic views are not necessarily going to take a gun into a night club themselves, but when a climate of intolerance is created towards LGBTQIA people, it gives extremists the excuse and a shift of general opinion which helps them to feel justified in killing. Take for example the 2011 shooter who, encouraged by the anti-LGBT and anti-liberal rhetoric of Rush Limbaugh, went into Tennessee Valley UU church with a gun and murdered two of the congregation, and would have murdered more of them if he could – because that congregation hosted a LGBT youth group.
The man who did this mass shooting was a virulent homophobe and was violent towards his ex-wife. He said he was doing the shooting in the name of DAESH – but neither this nor DAESH have anything to do with the true spirit of Islam. Undoubtedly, right-wingers will try to use this shooting to promote hatred against Muslims – another vulnerable group. But there are many Muslims who support LGBT rights; there are many queer Muslims, and they are in mourning too.
50 people are dead. 53 more people are injured, and five of those are in a critical condition. Let us pray for the dead, for the survivors, for their loved ones, and for the whole LGBTQIA community. We are all grieving, and many straight allies are grieving with us. One thing that was beautiful and heart-warming to see was the queue of 600 people waiting to give blood to help those injured in the shooting.
And still, we are rising. We will not be silenced, we will not be disheartened. We grieve for our dead, we mourn for the loss of their beauty in the world. We remind you that it is still not safe for two people of the same sex to kiss or hold hands.
I’m tired.
A year ago I put a rainbow flag around my shoulders and celebrated the legalization of gay marriage in the United States. A year ago there was no law banning transgender people from using the bathroom of their choosing. A year ago a man hadn’t shot 50 gay people dead because he saw two men kissing and got angry. “Now that gay marriage is legal, what more do you people want?” Well, I want to stay alive, for one thing.
I’m tired.
There aren’t gay coffee shops or gay restaurants – there are gay nightclubs. Gay nightclubs where LGBT people can meet other LGBT people and feel safe. I want to meet other LGBT people and make friends with LGBT people, but I also don’t want to die.
Yes, tired. And angry. And heartbroken. I am angry that this shit is still happening, that people are brutally murdered for who they love. I am angry that loving someone of the same sex is still considered a cause to murder them. Heartbroken that one of the few spaces that is supposed to be safe for LGBT people has become the scene of a brutal slaughter. Angry that more people have been brutally murdered and still nothing will be done about guns. And angry that hateful homophobic and transphobic rhetoric is still being spouted in the name of religion – even in the name of Pagan religions. We of all people can and should do better.
Once again, I call for stronger and deeper love in the face of hate. Love must win.
Candle animation by Ramon de Souza (Rain) (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons