June 12, 2016 marked the day of the deadliest attack on US soil since 9/11. This was truly a tragic event leaving 49 people dead and 53 more wounded. While many people are outraged because it seems like anybody can get their hands on weapons nowadays, which is a huge issue, I believe that people need to acknowledge the fact that the mass shooting was a homophobic hate crime.
Homophobia has been plaguing the LGBTQIA community for a very long time. According to oxforddictionaires.com, homophobia is the "dislike of or prejudice against homosexual people." Pulse is a gay club in Orlando, Florida and the fact that a gay club was the shooter's target cannot be a coincidence. Omar Mateen intentionally sought out to rob people in the LGBTQIA community of their lives, and the fact that he did can only be described as a despicable homophobic hate crime.
But what if he was gay?
Information is being gathered on the case and there is speculation that the shooter could have been gay. He was recognized as a man who had been to Pulse on a number of occasions and he also used gay dating apps. Was the shooter gathering information on his target or was he a closeted gay? If Omar Mateen was in fact homosexual, that in no way excuses him from the crimes that he committed. It would actually make it worse. How could a member of the LGBTQIA community slaughter his own people?
Internalized homophobia.
According to culturalbridgestojustice.org, Internalized homophobia "is defined as the involuntary belief by lesbians and gay men that the homophobic lies, stereotypes, and myths about them are true." We live in a homophobic society. People are taught that heterosexuality is the "norm" and that anyone who deviates from that should be discriminated against. I believe that people should be able to be who they are and love who they want to love with no questions asked. But for some others, the situation is not as simple as that. If Omar Mateen identified himself as homosexual, he probably would have been under pressure to stay in the closet. Factors such as his Muslim religion and his family could have made him scared to come out. This fear would have brewed inside him for years and eventually turned into rage. He was probably angry and jealous at the fact that other gay people could be so open and free about their sexuality. But he still had no right to take their lives.
The problem is that because of society's negative view of gay people, there will be others who are too afraid to come out. There will be others who will be influenced into becoming homophobic. There will be others who will internalize their homophobia. In order for any of this to change society needs to change. The LGBTQIA community needs to be accepted, loved, and respected the same way as everyone else because we are all human beings. The world needs to become a place where no one would be afraid to come out. It warms my heart to hear about the support that the gay community is receiving, and that some people all over the country are coming out in response to this tragedy. This will only make the LGBTQIA community stronger. I hope that those coming out will be accepted with open arms by their families, friends and peers. There needs to be more love in the world for hate crimes like this one to stop.
