Called “the deadliest mass shooting in Modern American History,” (CNN) the attack on Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, early Sunday morning sent shockwaves across the country.
2015 was a year marked by widespread violence, with the flurry of shootings across the U.S. late in December immediately sparking concern as the country set pace to close the year with an average of one shooting per day. With the careful detailing and accessibility of the Mass Shooting Tracker, (see my previous article here) the attention to number of shootings instead of casualty rates caused renewed debate on gun control, mental health, and hate crime discussions. America closed that year and opened this one obsessed with finding some kind of pattern by which to crack the code of violence.
Yet here we are.
President Obama declared the event in Orlando an act of terror — the deadliest since 9/11 (CNN). It is the deadliest shooting ever in America, with 50 reported dead and more victims still being announced as hospitals attempt to treat the flow of survivors. There has been an outpouring of disappointed outrage just as much as sympathetic love as people have been struggling to come to terms with what appears to be such a cruelly premeditated attack.
As CNN chronicles it, there were over 300 people in the nightclub at 2:02 a.m. when the gunman opened fire. Now coming out after initial reports, the shooter, Omar Mateen, had actually called the police himself after he attacked, relaying his association with ISIS. Police arrived on the scene to engage in a shootout with Mateen, during which he took 30 hostages in a standoff that lasted three hours. At around five in the morning, an armored vehicle was used to break through into the club. All the hostages were rescued and Mateen was shot and killed.
Horrific in its numbers, terrifying in its intent, and saddening in its impact, the massacre at Pulse encapsulates the many issues America has been trying to pinpoint and tackle in order to eliminate violence. Acts of terror against the U.S. by ISIS, hate crimes against the LGBTQ+ community, and the leniency of United States gun laws (the attacked had reportedly purchased two legally the week before the crime) all collided in this devastating tragedy. Which is most pressing, and which can be curbed in order to cut down violence definitively?
Of course, presidential hopefuls were prompt to publicly respond the event, offering condolences and plugs for their future efforts to fix those problems at the root of such violence. But I say the effort has to start before November. Just like every vote matters, so does every act of kindness. More so than Orlando’s, it is our job to come together as a country in the face of this attack on our people, our lifestyle, and the nation we share.
At the base of it, this is not about sexual identity or gun control stances. This is not about picking a candidate’s response to side with. This tragedy — the deadliest in our history — is not another reason for our country to divide over segmented issues. Put the debate topics aside. This is an opportunity to come together as a nation.
So while the analysis and the hate and the debate broil in the next few weeks, keep sympathy and love intact. Keep empathy and strength at a forefront. Rage at another will not end violence, but a determination for safety and loving acceptance will cultivate the right path within our own country. Sometimes it takes a tragedy to make serious change. Let’s have this be the last one by ensuring that the response is a positive one.
