Thank you all for your support towards us LGBT community but.....

[Coolest Ranger]

As a member of that community. I just don't feel safe. I'm always wondering whose going to take their gun out and shoot me because they don't like that I'm gay. Whose going to harass me because I'm gay. Whose going to protect us from the gun violence out there? But the most important thing I have to ask is when will the hate against us stop? I just have given up hope on humanity. I have given up hope on the human race. I just have no faith anymore at all.

I am sad beyond belief and terrified

[Betty Karlson]

1. And you are not alone in your sadness.

This horror is part and parcel of the status quo I am fed up with. The status quo is terrifying.

[David__77]

2. Gay people have faced this for some time.

And it's not just guns; it's bombs and knives and fists as well. And it's motivated by different ideas.

I don't have "the" answer. What does occur to me is that we need better security and we need to identify and rehabilitate or remove from society those elements that would do us harm.

[villager]

3. It is terrifying. And I don't think anyone feels safe right now.

And I certainly understand the extra layers of terror and vulnerability one would feel as a member of the LGBT community.

[rurallib]

18. well expressed. We don't feel safe simply because we have expressed our liberalism.

The poster has legitimate fears based on their sexuality. Others because of their skin color or their religion or some other aspect that makes them 'different.' This was not the promise of America.

[villager]

23. Heck, I'm Jewish!

We've long been on the exact same "radar..."

[LWolf]

4. At this moment,

I am terrified for my trans family member, and for my gay friends and students. I can't do anything at this moment but tell you this:

I stand with you.

[cagefreesoylentgreen]

5. *hugs*

I feel much the same, as I'm a queer transman who is post-op but pre-HRT (I can't do HRT for personal and medical reasons right now).

I've been getting a lot of stares and side-eyes lately, and with the current atmosphere I've been paranoid enough to consider wearing a body cam everywhere I go.

*much hugs for my LGBT sisters and brothers and non-binaries all over today*

[Lisa0825]

6. I'm so sorry.

I was out with 2 gay friends last night, and then I woke up to this horrible news. Thinking about how this makes me feel, in contrast to how they must feel... So many emotions going through my head right now.

I wish we could just reboot society.

[FDR_Liberal]

7. Im right there with you

As a closeted gay man, who has been trying to build up the courage to finally come out, something like this happens and pushes me deeper in the closet. I am so sick of the LGBT+ community being treated like were digusting, immoral, pieces of s***.

What a depressing day....

[Coolest Ranger]

8. I know what it is like to be in the closet

there are still some family members I'm not comfortable in coming out to because they don't think I have noticed but I pay attention to how they react to straight people versus gay people and its the difference between night and day. My natural father knows, my grandmother knows but beyond that I haven't told anyone yet because of the fear that I might be rejected

[FDR_Liberal]

12. Had to deal with a form of that today

While watching the coverage, my mom says something along the lines of, im not crazy about guys kissing either but these people are nuts......ughhhh
Im out to my best friend and hisbolder brother but thats it. Wont come out to my bro and probably not my mom for some time, thankfully my dad has been catching on to me a bit and vocally trying to make known his support for the LGBT community.

Oh and by the way, if youre gay and want to donate blood for the victims...you cant because you're gay and may have aids/hiv. Wait, youve been celibate since 1978? Nope, still dont want your blood.

[passiveporcupine]

29. If something like this doesn't change people's thinking

im not crazy about guys kissing either

You know what Mom? If everyone were kissing instead of shooting those they hate, this world could be a beautiful place.

I love to see people kissing and I don't give a fig what their sexual orientation is. Love is beautiful.

[3catwoman3]

33. " If everyone were kissing instead of shooting those they hate, this world could be...

...a beautiful place."

Well and powerfully said.

[Chellee]

34. I'm so sorry you had to deal with this any day, not just today.

You're right. This is wrong, every bit of it.

I wish I could offer you more than a virtual hug, but I can't stop crying long enough to even think. I don't even know any of these people, but I'm just so sick and furious that this happened. I just keep thinking about that poor, terrified woman looking for her missing son, knowing that his boyfriend was fighting for his life in the hospital, and that they would have been sitting together. I'm just sick thinking about it. These poor families, these poor people, God, we have to make this stop.

[FDR_Liberal]

38. That mother looking for her son kills me

I cannot watch that without crying my eyes out. Even thinking about it make me tear up.

We need to stop the violence. At home and abroad, were all human beings, we need to be in this together. If we stay on this track of hatred and selfishness, we wont be able to survive as a species.

My thoughts will be with those in Orlando and with all my lgbt brothers and sisters. We cant be tricked into thinking were winning the battle against the bigotry just because we have an openly gay athlete, or a fortune 500 buisness person who is gay. Those are victories but only minor ones.
We need to keep fighting for a society where love is the most important pillar that holds us up.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

24. Think about this

It is very likely someone today will find out for the first time their son or daughter was gay, because of this event......

[PeaceNikki]

9. I am so sorry. I stand with you and all of my LGBT friends and family.

[TimeToEvolve]

10. yes humans can be the most disgusting species on the planet.

just trust Mother Nature to end it all soon.

[sheshe2]

11. I stand with you....

And the entire Community.

~ Coolest Ranger

[BootinUp]

13. Hate speech leads to awful things, it should be outlawed. nt

[Odin2005]

14. [[[vibes for Coolest Ranger]]]

[wildeyed]

15. I'm sorry.

It's not right.

[SusanCalvin]

16. .

[MFM008]

17. So sorry friend

[Boomer]

19. What makes it even worse...

Too often the most virulent haters are people who can't cope with their own fears of being gay. The sight of gay people triggers fear, self-loathing and they lash out.

We're not safe because we live in a society that twists people into knots, turns them into powder kegs, and they take out that anger on us, the gay community that dares celebrate who we are.

[Amimnoch]

21. Sexual repression is one of the most damaging things that can happen

To the human psyche.

There are many papers and publications in Psychiatry and Psychology about this phenomenon.

Here's one article that I've kept bookmarked on that topic:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/sex-dawn/201004/sexual-repression-the-malady-considers-itself-the-remedy

Few things promote murder, sexual abuse, sexual assault, and pedophilia as the very religion based doctrines that are "supposed" to be preventing these kinds of acts.

I believe Steven Weinberg said it best: "Religion is an insult to human dignity. With or without it you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion."

[passiveporcupine]

30. "But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion."

Last edited Sun Jun 12, 2016, 06:03 PM - Edit history (1)

Or propaganda. People who are easily led to hatred, fall for propaganda.

[retrowire]

20. You have a friend in this straight white male.

You have a friend in so many others too.

I have gay family that I wish I could hug right now and I don't understand any of this nonsense either.

We need love. And we need it in abundance.

[ismnotwasm]

22. K&R

[lunatica]

25. Heavy legal punishment to the perpetrators will stop many of these crimes

It is no longer OK to dismiss violence against any group of people in this country and the punishment for these acts should be speedy and effective and it should be quite unforgiving.

The entire rape incident in Stanford shows that women also have reason to fear for their safety and lives as we speak.

Zero tolerance for hate crimes and terrorist acts has to be universal and 100% active.

[passiveporcupine]

37. I'm not sure punishment can stop this

After all, terrorism and mass shootings have been increasing and most of the perps are killed in the act. There is usually no one left to punish, and the next perp just idolizes the notoriety of the last one who died, for taking out a bunch of innocent people first. The Aurora shooter was not killed in the act, but he's been declared mentally ill.

The people doing this, whether driven by hate of gays or driven by terrorism, are willing to die in their final act of getting attention.

[JustAnotherGen]

26. K and R

And I hurt for you.

[maryellen99]

27. This hits too close to home my moms goddaughter is lesbian and just got married this past year

[Starry Messenger]

28. k&r

((hugs))

[Nye Bevan]

31. And spare a thought for closeted gay people in Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Iran, Afghanistan, Nigeria,

and all the countries where being gay is illegal and subject to execution or whipping and imprisonment.

[alarimer]

40. Really?

Don't be afraid here because other people have it worse????

Jesus wept.

[roamer65]

32. I think all gays should consider getting a CC and actively carrying a gun.

You have very little choice but to protect yourself.

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

35. I hear you.

For the very little that's worth. Wish I knew what to do or say that would ease your suffering.

[SCantiGOP]

36. We're all in this together

Gay or straight is irrelevant. This is an assault on the human race.

[Skittles]

41. it is relevant when you are specifically targeted

women very often feel the same way - it's something that stays with you, a kind of uneasiness

[alarimer]

39. You are right to be afraid, considering how many people are allowed to carry weapons

Everywhere we all go, there are people who walk around armed, because they are paranoid freaks.

But they are more of a threat.

[Silver_Witch]

42. I totally understand!

I have spent decades being afraid of rape and abuse! I have watch judges give men a pass when they rape us or kill us. I have watched for decades as police dont interecede when woman at stalked and terrified because you know "they haven't done anything yet! "

Until we live in a country a world where hate is wrong and religion is not allowed to paint a group as bad just be cause they were born a woman or gay we are screwed!!!

Thankfully LOVE will win! I hope it is in my lifetime!