Until today, the deadliest attack had been in New Orleans, over 40 years ago. Unfortunately, Orlando is hardly the first major deadly attack against an LGBT bar or landmark. Less than two weeks before the country prepares to celebrate one year of marriage equality, the sight of two men kissing on the street is terrifying enough to someone that a hatred-fueled massacre we experienced at the Pulse in Orlando can be the result. The place where they were attacked is more than a nightclub - it is a place of solidarity and empowerment where people have come together to raise awareness, to speak their minds, and to advocate for their civil rights.” He talked about the unthinkable contrast of the horror that happened in the early hours of Sunday morning in Orlando: “The shooter targeted a nightclub where people came together to be with friends, to dance and to sing, and to live. Sunday, Obama addressed the American LGBTQ community and the rest of the nation again to talk about the worst mass shooting in our history. When a radiant President Obama declared June LGBTQ Pride month, he told the American people that “despite the extraordinary progress of the past few years, LGBT Americans still face discrimination simply for being who they are.” Nobody could have imagined how that statement would take on a tragic enormity just days later. It is a constant reminder to us that even in what we consider gay-safe spaces…we are not safe! This article only goes up to June 2016 – it would be frightening to know the further extent of this awful violence since that date. It is not a pleasant subject, but it’s a reality, and whether we like it or not, like war, it is part of our history. Here in Australia alone there are, in Sydney, about 80 unsolved gay murders from the 80s alone.
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This litany of gay hate, murder and violence goes on everywhere in the world.