I am appalled that there is anger at lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people for stating that the Orlando attack was specifically targeting that community. Any claim otherwise is utterly without merit.
Omar Mateen walked into a gay club to shoot as many gay and lesbian people he could. This was not a random terror attack, as some people (and Fox News) claim.
That Mateen had pledged allegiance to the so-called Islamic State (also known as ISIS) only reinforces this truth. It is incontrovertible that he, and all others with pro-ISIS beliefs, hated gays and lesbians (and everyone else under the LGBTQ umbrella).
The notion that he was not targeting the queer community because he was (possibly) gay is equally ridiculous. Any gay feelings he may have had only served to make his hatred deeper. It would have made him even more angry if he had these feelings because they were against everything he believed was right. Ever heard the term “internalized homophobia”?
Stop minimizing the grief of the LGBTQ community because you can’t recognize homophobia when it comes armed with a semi-automatic weapon and shoots up the place.
Terry Hennessey
Portland
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