Some Thoughts about the Pulse Shootings

When I heard about the shootings at the gay dance club in Orlando, I felt sick to my stomach. There is so much violence in the world and it's so horrible. It's taken a few days to even process it all, especially as the stories and pictures of the people killed start rolling onto the internet.

I've also seen several posts that say if you aren't LBQT+, that you have no business commenting on this tragedy. But on the other side, I've seen posts that say that straight, cisgendered people like myself haven't said enough.

I'm about as straight as they come. But I have a lot of LBQT+ friends. I see them as just people, awesome people since they are my friends. I don't understand the hate, and I don't think I ever will. I've had people who have hurt me physically and emotionally over the years, but I don't hate them.

The shooter sounds like he had hatred for himself, along with the people he killed. Mental illness is real. It's something I suffer from. Though I'd be more likely to kill myself rather than take others out with me if I went off my medicine. Thankfully I do have medicine to help me with my brain imbalance.

I'm also a Christian. And it sickens me to see Christian folks, especially pastors, cheering for the deaths of these people. No-one would choose to be out of the norm and live a life knowing that they will be bullied and even killed for they way they were born.

Of course, there has been a lot of talk about guns and gun control. I've never been comfortable with guns, but I can see a use for hunting rifles. Less so for handguns, but I'm totally for a ban of semi-automatic weapons. No-one needs a firearm that can mow down a bunch of people in just a few minutes. But that's just my opinion.

But in the end, this was a tragedy. I grieve for all those who lost loved ones as well as all those who are LBQT+.