To the victims and mourners of the Pulse Nightclub mass shooting in Orlando:
I am sorry for what happened, even though I am not at fault. I am sorry that everything happened at once, and you were just trying to have a night out. Your night out was also a night where you could just be "out", and that is something that should be embraced, not feared. You are human beings, and your messages are heard loud and clear.
What happened that night is something I will never see with my own eyes. I have heard stories, seen pictures, and read articles about how people were screaming, crying, and how forty-nine died. I do not understand why or how this happened when you were simply trying to live your lives. Your lives matter just as much as everyone else's, and do not let the horrible man that took so many of them make you think otherwise.
You have every right to be mad, depressed, and confused. I don't think anyone will ever fully understand why there had to be lives to lose. You should have been able to go to a club and have fun. No one should have had a gun pointed to their head instead of just had fun. I weep for and with you because your pain is felt so far and so wide. I know that it will take a lot of time for the tears to subside.
I want to say that I stand with the LGBT community and with anyone who had to feel like a target that night. It does not make sense in the minds of people who have only tried to bring light. This was unexpected, and it was cruel. You should have never had to be fearful in a bathroom praying that he would not choose you.
If you lost a friend, then we have lost one together. Of course I feel their loss, but you knew them better. Earlier in the night you were probably dancing, and you were probably smiling so bright. No one would have guessed what would have happened that night. Why should you have been prepared for any type of fight or flight?
I saw that a man had texted his mom just before he was about to die. How are you supposed to tell a parent that you are being forced to say goodbye? My heart absolutely aches for the victims who constantly cried. I wish that none of this had happened, but I'm sure that is not only in my own mind.
I want to say that I am here- and so are so many others. We may not have been there with you, but our hearts all the same will suffer. The LGBT community is one of love and one of respect. There is hope encompassing it and the people who work to complete it's trek.
You must have felt very alone that night, but do not let this man, this incident- this horrific act- make you feel like you always will. A very bad man did something that can never go away, but there are people here to help you heal.
Love is love and we will prevail. I promise that you will never have to feel as if you are in a position to fail. We will fight for justice, for this community to always be safe, and for the people who lost their lives to a man and belief system full of hate.
