On June 12, 2016, Omar Mateen brought a gun to the gay nightclub Pulse in Orlando, Florida. He killed 49 people and injured 53. It was one of the largest massacres in the United State’s history, and it was nothing short of a tragedy for the LGBTQ community and the rest of the country. It’s not the time to reduce the deaths of 49 individuals to mere support for your own political agenda, but it’s also not the time to remain passive.

In a tragedy like this, which happens all too frequently, the victims and survivors should have the greatest voice. I believe their stories are the most important, and we should not give the perpetrator the attention he wanted. However, we should reflect on what could have driven an individual to commit such a heinous act of hatred and what allowed it to happen so something can be done to prevent future tragedies.

Some have said making this an argument about gun control is disrespectful. They say this should be a time for mourning and compassion. True, turning these individuals into numbers to strengthen your argument can be cheap if done distastefully, but doing nothing is worse. I’ve heard people say Mateen was filled with hate, and that his hatred caused the massacre more than any weapon. But dismissing it as an individual act of hatred is not the answer. We live in a culture that fosters this kind of hatred, and this was far from a random occurrence. There have been 136 mass shootings in the US just this year, and if you truly believe the main cause of this tragedy was hate, then you need to offer a solution to significantly erase the hatred the LGBTQ community has been fighting for years.

And that is no easy task. Yes, the United States has become much more LGBTQ friendly over the years, but from cake controversies to bathroom bills to targeted murders, there is still a lot of hate and discrimination in this country. However, it is an undeniable fact that the United States is the #1 country for gun violence. Laws are something we can control, and although strict gun laws will not completely eliminate gun violence, it can reduce it. It seemed to have worked for Australia.

Most gun control advocates are not pushing to ban all guns. Rather, they want the law to make it much more difficult for a gun to end up in the hands of someone like Mateen.

Other groups advocate for more guns. The Pink Pistols is an organization that aims to empower LGBTQ individuals to defend themselves by teaching them how to use guns. They argue that if people at Pulse were legally allowed to bring guns into the club, someone might have stopped Mateen sooner.

I believe there should be strict laws and background checks, since Omar Mateen did obtain his weapon legally. But whatever your opinion, now is the time for conversation and subsequent action. The current system is obviously flawed, so silence and tip-toeing around the issues in order to not offend anyone helps no one.

The LGBTQ community has continually shown perseverance and resilience in the face of discrimination. For instance, after Matthew Shepard was murdered in 1998, his parents created the Matthew Shepard Foundation, and the Trevor Project was created to help struggling LGBTQ youth. We remember the Stonewall Riots, and we remember those who advocated for marriage equality until it was recognized nationally in June 2015. Currently, advocates are trying to amend the law banning gay men from donating blood.

There has been an unnecessarily high number of mass shootings in the United States over the last few years and something distinct and concrete needs to be put into place before they become a common part of our culture. Yes, Mateen was more prejudiced than most, but he is far from an individual outlier. Large scale preventative measures are long overdue, and while condolences and prayers show compassion and empathy, only action and progression will prevent future tragedies and suffering.