Orlando

I couldn't not talk about this topic. As a proud member of the LGBT community, I can't keep quiet about the homophobia that happened in Orlando at the weekend. The gunman, who shall remain nameless, took the innocent lives of 49 people and injured 53 at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando. The fear faced by the club-goers must have be unimaginable. We keep hearing horrific accounts of what happened that night, all over the internet and in the press. Take Eddie Justice, a man who lived in downtown Orlando, his mom Mina said he liked to eat, workout and make everyone laugh. He was in the Pulse Nightclub and was giving his mom a blow by blow account as he was trapped in the bathroom. He started with "Mommy I love you" but soon he was texting "I'm gonna die". Sadly he died in the early hours of Monday morning. 

How many more deaths is it gonna take America? How many more innocent people are going to die because you won't impose stricter gun laws? Of course we need to stop the source of the hatred which is poisoning minds to commit these terrible atrocities, but it's just too easy for these people to obtain a weapon of such power in the first place. 

Republican Marco Rubio in an interview with a BBC correspondent was asked about imposing stricter gun laws to which he said that it would have happened anyway, they would have found another way to get a gun. The answer he gave was simply not good enough. Imagine if the world took that approach to other crimes and events? The world would be in even more chaos than it is now. You can't turn a blind eye to such a major cause of such a unthinkably tragic horror. Banning gun use in America or making it much tougher to obtain a weapon isn't enough but it's a start which could save so many lives. Considering all the mass shootings that are happening in America, maintaining the current law or procedure to obtain a gun is insanity. America owes it to the all the innocent people who have had their life cut short in this way to take action now. Action doesn't mean start another war. Action doesn't mean throw meaningless words into the political arena to score points in the election. Action means starting at home. Action means imposing stricter gun laws. Action means making equality law. Action means coming together as a country and showing solidarity against such hatred. Action means now. 

You don't need to be American or LGBT to show compassion. It's so important to show your support from wherever you are in the world. I'm sending my love to Orlando and hoping that this never happens again, but with current gun laws, it will.