June 26, 2015. The day love won. We celebrated the right to be married in our own country.

June 12, 2016. Almost a year later, we are reminded that our fight is far from over.

I spent most of my day yesterday searching the Internet for pictures and videos from all the Pride Parades happening this weekend. I wanted so badly to be there, celebrating. If you didn't know or didn't care to know, June is Gay Pride Month, but someone tried to take that away from us this weekend.

I woke up this morning to see my Twitter feed flooding with the news: 50 dead at Orlando Gay Club.

While I was sleeping, the LGBTQ Community became the victim of the worst shooting in United States history.

This attack was not the fault of gun ownership or Islam. This was the spawn of homophobia. Homophobia that has been taught by our families, our schools, our places of worship, and our politics. When your political party enforces anti-gay legislation and your churches preach that an entire community of people are abominations, the phrase, "Hate the sin, love the sinner," quickly becomes an anthem for hate speech. Hatred will not go away unless we teach our children acceptance. It's time we stop hiding behind fake acceptance and fake kindness and learn what it truly means to love unconditionally.

Soon, this heartbreaking attack will become a debate. It will be one of the many talking points on presidential campaigns. It will become a statistic for gun control fighters everywhere. It will become a shield for Islamophobia. This shooting will become a tool, but for now, today and tomorrow maybe, this shooting will be a driving force for love.

The world is watching the LGBTQ Community. The world will watch and learn as the community becomes a shield for its own. We will not rave about gun control or call for the death of Muslims. Our community was built on love, and that's all we know. Love will always win.

The LGBTQ community has come a very long way from life in the shadows of American culture, but our enemy will always be hatred. Today, our tears and our blood join that of the thousands that have gone before us to make the world a more accepting place, and as we remember those that are gone as a result of today's attack, we also thank them:

Thank you to all those that are gone as a result of living boldly and fighting for equality. You are truly saints. Our hearts go out to you and your families, and we celebrate the lives you lived.

Happy Pride.