It began with the killings of 49 people and wounding of 53 others at Pulse, an LGBT nightclub in Orlando, early Sunday morning. Armed with a SIG Sauer MCX semi-automatic rifle and a 9mm Glock 17 handgun, the shooter, 29-year-old Omar Mateen, entered the club near closing time and began firing and taking patrons hostage. After a three-hour standoff with local police, he was shot and killed.
Mateen’s assault became the deadliest mass shooting by a lone gunman and the most lethal act of violence against LGBT people in the country’s history. It was also the worst terrorist attack in the U.S. since 9/11 and the largest mass murder of LGBT people in the Western world since the Holocaust.
On Sunday morning, Congressmember Alan Lowenthal, who represents California’s 47th District, released a statement about the tragedy, saying he had no words to describe how devastated he was by the “horror in Orlando” but that his heart went out to the families and friends of those killed and wounded.
“This cannot continue,” Lowenthal wrote. “No one, outside the military, should have access to military-style weapons. We have to take action. We are better than this.”
The LGBTQ Center of Long Beach also released a statement about the massacre.
“As many of us are celebrating Pride Month, we must remember that there is still hate and discrimination against many races, ethnicities, sexual orientations and gender identities,” the statement read. “During this time, we must remain unified. We must not allow those that are filled with hate to drive a wedge into our communities.”
Included in the statement was an announcement that there would be a candlelight vigil in Harvey Milk Park in downtown Long Beach on Sunday evening.
Later, Long Beach leaders and community members gathered at the spot dedicated to Milk, the slain gay-rights leader. In his remarks at the event, Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia, who is openly gay, said “our community was attacked.”
“The largest mass shooting-murder in the history of our country has now happened to our community,” Garcia said. “That should not be forgotten or taken lightly.”
He added that nightclubs are more than just bars to the LGBT community.
“When you’re in a community that has very few spaces to feel safe— or a home that’s not supporting you— you go to these places to have support, for family, to be yourself, to enjoy yourself, maybe because you’re not out to your family,” Garcia said. “And so these are really sanctuaries. These are places where people want to feel safe.”
On Tuesday morning, Cal State Long Beach President Jane Close Conoley issued a statement to students that seemed to recall the terrorist attacks in Paris, France last November that claimed the life of CSULB student Nohemi Gonzalez, as well as 128 others.
“Sadly, once again, we join our nation in mourning an incomprehensible mass shooting— this time in Orlando, Florida,” Conoley wrote. “CSULB is a vibrantly diverse campus that stands against violence and bigotry. My heart goes out to everyone affected by this tragic hate crime against the LGBTQA community. I offer sympathy and solidarity to our LGBTQA students and colleagues during this difficult time, as well as support to our Muslim community, who cannot be defined by or held responsible for the act of an individual.”
[aesop_image imgwidth=”500px” img=”http://www.signaltribunenewspaper.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Screen-Shot-2016-06-16-at-4.19.54-PM.png” offset=”0px” align=”right” lightbox=”on” caption=”Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia addresses attendees at a June 12 vigil at Harvey Milk Park honoring those who perished in the Orlando shootings that morning.” captionposition=”right”] Conoley went on to state that the university’s Counseling and Psychological Services has trained and licensed professional counselors available for students who feel the need to speak to someone.
Also offering help to the community this week was The Mental Health Program at the LGBTQ Center Long Beach, which is extending free crisis counseling to those affected by the tragedy.
Interested parties may call (562) 434-4455 or walk in at the Center, 2017 E 4th St., during the hours of 10am and 8pm.
This week was further marked by historical significance when U.S. Senator Christopher Murphy (D-Connecticut) gained control of the Senate floor for over 15 hours, starting at 11:21am Wednesday, with the goal of pushing Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) to permit votes on Democrats’ amendments to the annual Commerce, Justice, Science appropriations bill to strengthen gun laws. It would be the first filibuster for gun control in the nation’s history.
A tentative deal was reached shortly before 2am Thursday when Murphy announced an agreement between McConnell and Senator Harry Reid (D-Nevada) to hold votes on two gun-control amendments.
In the House of Representatives, during a floor speech Wednesday, Rep. Lowenthal said hate against the LGBT community is a result of legislative bodies not doing enough to address issues of discrimination.
“Forty-nine dead Americans: sons, daughters, husbands, wives, friends,” Lowenthal said. “Whatever his ideology, whatever gun he used, this killer was driven by hate towards the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. Just as hate struck the LGBT community at the UpStairs Lounge in New Orleans, or at Uncle Charlie’s in New York City, or at the Be Bar Nightclub here in Washington, or the hundreds and hundreds of other attacks that occur each year, it is because of the inaction of bodies like this, the Congress of the United States, to address discrimination, to ignore cries for equality, that this hate continues to fester. The LGBT community deals with this fear and hate every single day, all for wanting to live and love and be who they are— and who they are, are just like everyone else in the LGBT community— sons, daughters, husbands, wives and friends.”
Shortly before press time on Thursday, local community groups and leaders convened a gathering of remembrance and healing, in response to the Orlando shooting, at Temple Israel in Long Beach.
“Numbed silence in the face of such a tragedy is not an option,” said Rabbi Steven Moskowitz, in a press release promoting the event. “We need to remember the fallen, heal the injured and traumatized, and strengthen the building of communities based on love, pride of diversity and compassion.”
Disaster Distress Hotline
1-800-985-5900
Trevor Project
1-866-488-7386
Didi Hirsh-Suicide Prevention 1-877-727-4747
