“I think the tone starts out just a little subdued because we’ve had a lot of awful tragedy”, said Representative Paula Hawks (D) District 9, “this is the one year anniversary of another tragedy that happened in a church setting, we’ve had school shootings. Denver police have really shown their support for the community”, said Brandon Lopez.
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The song is a personal one for Lynn.
What we know is that a young New York-born American intentionally and premeditatedly chose to murder as many people as he could. How did the way that information continued to come in affect your emotions? As I woke up that morning and started hearing the news I did what everybody did, I was glued to the TV, and at a certain point someone came on and was talking about how one of the police officers had spoken about how loud the sound of the cell phones (of the deceased) had been in the club, all of them going off at once, and I had a moment where I just was like, I can’t look at this anymore right now. It ignores the significance of that space, and the impact that the Pulse shooting has on every other LGBT person who finds safety, comfort, and community in such spaces.
Here’s the thing: I’m bisexual. I know Harvey Milk’s death would have been an opportunity for that to happen, and Brandon Teena’s death would have been an opportunity for that to happen, and Matthew Shepard’s death would have been an opportunity for that to happen. I live for the day that his motivation is understood by no one.
It comes as Pride chairman Michael Salter said a “huge” number of people are expected to attend this year’s festivities to show solidarity with the LGBT community. Not sure if the killings or the response is worse.
But I will not let fear consume me to keep it hidden. I was scared at times.
Imagine having to decide if it is worth the consequences to tell your family who you love? We will continue to fight equality and we will continue to celebrate pride. Any straight person could easily turn their back to a suffering gay person, dismissing the situation as someone else’s problem or something from which they couldn’t benefit by helping. As Miriam Zoila Perez wrote in an essay for the multicultural website Colorlines, “Being queer and Latinx in the USA sometimes feels like it can be impossible to find our people”. But in America, we give people with bloodlust and hate in their hearts the means to end dozens of lives per minute – and we allow the purchase of such heinous military-grade weapons to remain legal. It didn’t matter where you were born, the culture was one that saw black churches openly bashing homosexuality and parents disowning their children, leaving them on the streets to survive however they could. In the days following this massacre, elected officials and members of the media debated whether this was an act of terror or a hate crime. I felt safe for the first time as an out gay artist. We must continue to be agents of tolerance, compassion, and dignity, even – especially – in the face of evil.
Marking the murder of 49 people at a gay club in Orlando, Florida last week, Israel’s U.S. ambassador Ron Dermer- himself a Miami native- told the gathering that he wanted to offer “a simple message”. That’s not a word I have used to describe myself to more than just two people privately. Starting those conversations in your own networks, in your own lives. I must do more.
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Acts of violence are committed against LGBT people every single day. I want people to care about queer, and trans, youth. Anderson Cooper in an interview on CNN challenged Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi for showing support for the Orlando victims and their families because she had previously argued against gay marriage in Florida. In that attractive moment, in front of family and friends we were able to exchange vows and share our love for one another with the world. The coming out is not just for gay and trans people, it’s for our allies, too. “Homophobia, transphobia and Islamophobia are interconnected systems of oppression”, said Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), “and we can not dismantle one without dismantling the other”. Outside the community, racism and fear of terrorism have completely taken over, and it happens all the goddamned time. He’s using his power to at least try to spotlight (the community). “All people are created in the image of God”. People should go, and cheer the drag queens on.
