Bigotry and hatred: an ongoing issue

Cindy Cuadra/Contributing writer

 

Sunday, June 12, 2016 marks the day 50 innocent lives were taken. It marks the day 53 people were clinging on to life due to gunshot wounds, and it marks the day the worse and largest mass casualty shooting in United States history took place in Orlando, Florida.

Unfortunately, this tragic event that happened in the downtown area of Orlando at a well-known gay nightclub called Pulse, has been the latest of many tragic events from the past few years. Yet, the questions still remain, why does this keep happening, why is it so easy for people to purchase guns and what kind of world are we living in when it is easier for people to see two hands holding a gun than two men holding hands?

According to NBC News, the 29-year old gunman, Omar Mateen, entered Pulse with an AR-15 classified rifle and a handgun around 2 a.m. and started a massacre. He was shot and killed three hours later when the SWAT team entered the club and targeted him. Officials said that the suspect made a 911 phone call and pledged allegiance to the leader of ISIS before he began shooting.

The FBI has had him on their radar since 2013, after co-workers of Mateen had concerns over offensive comments made about radical Islamic promotion. A year later, the FBI also had him under investigation for having a connection to an American individual who had made his way to the Middle East, in order to become a suicide bomber. However, NBC News said that no credible threats were found by the FBI.

The bigotry and hatred that still happens in this country is an ongoing issue that desperately needs to end. Nothing can justify such a crime against humanity, and instead of coming together and being united as a country, acts of hate and violence are still instilled and conditioned into people from such a young age.

Growing up in Miami, and having visited Orlando so many times in my own life has made this awful event surreal and harder to process. With a tragedy so close to home and having friends who live in Orlando creates a desperate plea for change. It shouldn’t be an easy process to own a gun or enter a public venue with a gun, and society should not have to label LGBTQA rights because they should simply be called human rights.  

These heinous acts of hate and terror continue to happen in our own backyards and yet nothing is being done to tighten gun control, or teach children early on that LGBTQA rights are human rights.

A couple of days before this tragedy, another shooting happened just a few minutes away from Pulse nightclub, at the Plaza Live Orlando. Christina Grimmie, a 22-year old singer who made her way to the top as a contestant on NBC’s” The Voice” lost her life, after a gunman entered an area of the theater where she was signing autographs after her concert.  

According to CNN, the suspect had two handguns, a hunting knife, and two loaded ammunition storage devices. CNN said that authorities are still unsure on how the gunman was able to sneak a gun into the theater, and if the concert attendees were checked before entering the theater.

The lack of security and the lenient gun laws are brought to light when cases like the Orlando shooting or the San Bernardino attack, that took place less than a year ago, happen so frequently. Gun control is a hot debate topic among politicians who wish to take office next term.

Republican presidential candidate, Donald Trump said “We’re going to cherish the Second Amendment,” during a campaign in Washington. Former First Lady and Democratic presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton said she is willing to work towards reforms on the licensing and purchasing of firearms if elected. Having so many opposing views from individuals who hope to run the country shies aways from the issue at hand, which is to work together to fix this ongoing problem.

Tightening security at events and public spaces like schools and malls should be a priority towards reforming gun laws. According to an article published by Law Newz, Florida law does not require a state license to purchase a gun but it does require a permit to carry a concealed weapon.

The article mentions that in Florida, people can still legally purchase semi-automatic rifles but federal efforts have been made in order to ban assault rifles from being purchased. As part of those federal efforts, background checks are conducted to look into an individual’s criminal history and require waiting periods.

Still, background checks are not enough to determine whether an individual is capable of owning a gun or not.  A person may pass a background check and still have the motive, like hate against a community, to commit a crime with a gun.

Hatred is what drove Mateen to commit an act of violence against a community trying to be themselves in their own space. It is evident that there are ideologies in this world, motivated by hatred, to terrorize the United States.

According to NBC News, Mateen’s father, Seddique Mir Mateen said that “It has nothing to do with religion,” and that his son was disturbed after seeing two men kissing in Miami a couple of months ago. Seeing a gay couple exchange affection publicly is not what caused someone to shoot up a gay nightclub, it is the negative social stigma the LGBTQA community has had to endure over the years that cause tragedies to happen.

It is not acceptable for the LGBTQA community or the Muslim community to have to routinely defend themselves and their rights. It is not acceptable for people to fear for their lives because they want to live out their truth. We are all Americans with the same human rights.

Gender and sexuality should not be a topic of debate when there are larger, more dangerous issues happening in the world. Instead of fighting with one another and being scared over and over again in the aftermath of these tragedies, we should be standing united alongside each other, and not giving into the fear and stereotypes that cause these tragic events.

The aftermath of the Orlando massacre proves that it is possible for humanity to come together and pick each other up at the most devastating times. Many blood drives had people lined up in the wake of the shooting at Pulse nightclub to donate blood. According to ABC News 11, blood drives received an overwhelming response, and doctors were asked to come back because everyone there wanted to donate blood.

ABC News also said that JetBlue Airlines was providing free flight tickets to Orlando for the family and friends of the victims affected by the tragedy. Vigils around the nation have been held in honor of the victims of the shooting. A strong community coming together in the wake of a tragedy is the change we need to see in humanity to change this vicious cycle of attacks.

We cannot look back, but we can move forward from this tragedy and choose to learn from it. We need to change the way we treat each other regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality or religion. We must remember we are all humans first. We cannot let fear win.

As the Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said in a statement made on the morning of the tragedy, “We will not be defined by a hateful shooter. We will be defined by the way we love each other.”

The opinions presented within this page do not represent the views of FIU Student Media Editorial Board. These views are separate from editorials and reflect individual perspectives of contributing writers and/or members of the University community

 

Image by Stephen Z, retrieved from Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/szuppo/113922298/in/photolist-b4T8y-doHuE7-asoiE-iYhSu-KDMae-6V6wNW-9gfQRy-p3AX82-dk7uXL-c5V5a-eRuCU-b5c6N-8gK9ZU-uKMwd-3mPFn3-eR9kS-nibtYb-9B8A44-dnfQm-dk4qnd-3mKePe-iYjKB-iFeYX-bkrXaz-iFfqY-iFfrz-pMEqKv-dmquic-dDqxh-dVLSGb-aUUzJ-dVNLy1-dVHr6M-aso3j-No3K5-czerSq-b4T94-dVFbrp-ERacd-iFfnm-iFeY3-pUmgfc-odKDcx-dnfRZ-aso5G-aUUK1-rjGRVx-49SQU2-dVET9H-bsD9HS