I have been trying to formulate a coherent string of words to properly describe the devastation I feel in response to the mass shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando on Saturday night. In the time since I first heard the news, I have gone through grief, anger, sadness, fear, and I still have a pit in the bottom of my stomach where all of it sits like dead weight. The thing that makes me the angriest is that this could have been prevented, and a lot of people still don’t understand that.

First of all, let’s get one thing clear, because too many people are ignoring it: Pulse is a gay nightclub. It was targeted specifically because of its connection to the LGBTQ+ community; gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people lost their lives. Places like that are meant to be space spaces for our community. Additionally, June is Pride Month. This would obviously be devastating any time of year, but a massacre like this during the month when we should be openly celebrating how far we’ve come is a specific kind of hurt.

It was also Latino night at Pulse, so the victims were targeted for their ethnicity as well as their sexuality. The main acts performing were transgender Latinas. Over 90 percent of the victims were Latino. We cannot erase their identities. To do so would be the ultimate insult to the lives that were lost.

You might wonder why it matters. This is hardly the first mass shooting in America this month. However, it is the deadliest mass shooting in American history. Context is important, and when mainstream media outlets pretend not to know, it’s even more important for us to remind people over and over and over again that this had everything to do with racism, homophobia, and transphobia.

Homophobia and transphobia isn’t simply disagreeing with a “lifestyle.” It breeds ignorance and hate, and it is what allowed this tragedy to happen. Even if the shooter was gay himself (which many have speculated), internalized homophobia contributed to the hate that erupted that night.

People have been very quick to blame Muslims and Islam. First of all, a few individuals do not represent an entire group of people. No one blames all Christians for the actions of the KKK or the Westboro Baptist Church. The parents and ex-wife of the gunman have said that he was not religious; he was, however, prone to violence. He abused his ex-wife, and his father said that prior to the shooting he became enraged at the sight of two men kissing. He was also born and raised in the United States, so immigration is not the issue here.

Now, I know what you’re going to say. You’re going to tell me that Islam is so oppressive, they want to destroy all queer people, that queer people are killed in the Middle East just for being themselves. Ladies and gentlemen, nearly fifty people were just killed in the United States of America for being queer, and that was just on Saturday. The same people who survived the attack can be fired from their jobs for their identity as per Florida law, and that happens across the nation. Transgender people (especially trans people of color) are being murdered just for existing, and politicians are trying to legislate where they can and can't go to the bathroom. Teens are killing themselves rather than coming out, are bullied or beaten to death, or commit suicide after being subjected to conversion therapy. Let’s not pretend that radical Islam has a monopoly on homophobia. Let’s not act like the rest of the world, including our own country, isn’t just as hateful on a daily basis. Hate has no religion. It has no race. It has no country. It is learned.

I refuse to use the gunman’s name. I refuse to give him any fame. He was abusive, violent, and on the FBI terror watchlist, yet still managed to acquire a military-grade assault weapon. So, to the politicians who voted against banning the sale of guns to those who the FBI knows as a possible threat — the blood of the innocent people from Pulse is on your hands. Save your “thoughts and prayers.” We know you don’t mean it, not when you made this possible. Keeping guns capable of killing dozens of people in a matter of minutes out of the hands of criminals is not infringing on your rights, but the rights of others' to live and to feel safe is more important than your hobby. No one with that much hate in their heart should have access to weapons like that.

The term “lone wolf” has been thrown around half-heartedly since the news broke. I think we all know that even though this man acted alone, he was helped. The people who made it possible for him to get a gun helped. The people who shared their hate with him helped. The media, which constantly ignores the suffering of the LGBTQ+ community and POC, helped. The politicians who treat this community like second-class citizens without any regret — and continue to do so — helped.

To every parent who taught their children to hate, to every person who still thinks homophobia is edgy or funny, to every showrunner who couldn’t think of a better plot twist than killing off a queer character, to all the school personnel who refuse to protect their LGBTQ+ students, to all the politicians who were more concerned about bathrooms than violent weapons — this is what your ignorance spawns. You have something in common with a man that killed forty-nine people and injured dozens more.

This is on you.