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The hesitation to address the sexuality of the victims is something many members of the community called a type of queer erasure, preventing the community from rightfully claiming the trauma as theirs, or pointing out the faults of a homophobic culture.

But now, talk surrounding the shooter's sexuality has shifted views of the attack, minimizing it as violence only within the LGBTQ community. And that gives non-LGBTQ people — and a culture looking to deflect blame — the ability to wash their hands of the larger discussion around homophobia.

"Whether or not he was on an app or visited the club before, this is homophobia at its absolute worst."

Many LGBTQ advocates are critical of the attention placed on the shooter’s possible sexuality. It's a focus they say is harmful, detracting from the hate and homophobic culture that fueled the attack.

"Whether or not he was on an app or visited the club before, this is homophobia at its absolute worst," Sarah Kate Ellis, president and CEO of GLAAD, tells Mashable. "This is another example of homophobia turning into horrific violence, right here in our own borders. This is something we must put a stop to — the hate and discrimination."

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"This is someone who was homophobic and went after the LGBTQ community in one of our safest havens — a place where we come together in fellowship and community to be our authentic selves," she says. "It cuts to the core of the LGBTQ community and the violence we've experienced for decades."

What if people blamed murder victims for the crimes committed against them the way they tend to blame rape victims?

A YouTube video posted by Blue Seat Studios examines that very question. The video, entitled, “James is Dead,” shows two cartoon women talking about the murder of the fictional character, James, at a college party.

“I mean, what was he wearing though?” one woman asks. “I mean, you know how he wears those V-neck t-shirts? I’m just saying, if you don’t want to get stabbed in the neck, consider wearing a turtleneck sweater or something.”

The video comes while the case of Stanford swimer Brock Turner has made headlines. Turner was convicted of sexually assaulting a woman behind a dumpster. Outrage over his lenient sentence of 6 months in jail has caused the story to go viral.

Newly released documents reveal that the FBI found hundreds of classified documents on a laptop belonging to Paula Broadwell, the woman with whom then-CIA director Gen. David Petraeus conducted a clandestine affair.

The Charlotte Observer reported Wednesday about the contents of a recently-unsealed FBI search warrant served during the agency’s 2013 investigation of the affair. More than 300 of the classified documents found on Broadwell’s computer were categorized as state secrets.

Broadwell was an author who was charged with writing a biography of the former CIA director, but the two became romantically involved over the course of the book’s completion. Documents pertaining to the FBI probe were unsealed on Tuesday in the U.S. District Court of Eastern Virginia.

“The probe uncovered their affair, revealed their mishandling of classified documents and lead to Petraeus’ resignation as head of the CIA. Last year, Petraeus pleaded guilty in Charlotte to a misdemeanor charge of mishandling government documents and was fined $100,000,” the Observer said.

Unfortunately we live in a world where women in sports, no matter how skilled and celebrated they may be, still have to deal with the occasional side serving of discrimination or objectification.

In a new video for Glamour, an exasperated Serena Williams effectively shuts down a slew of annoying comments by pelting a heckler named Alec with tennis balls.

Just another day of practice.

A Wyandotte man running to unseat Democrat Rep. Debbie Dingell voiced an opinion on Facebook that is raising some eyebrows.

Tom Bagwell commented on a Facebook post regarding the story of a 24-year-old female teacher allegedly impregnated by her 13-year-old student.

Bagwell commented saying: "Children should be protected as best we can. Unfortunately, the unintended consequences of government action often can cause more harm. We need reforms that make cases more subjective and look at each case separately rather than simple hard age cutoffs.

When pressed on it by another user, Bagwell continued: "Hard age of consent laws don't take into account the actual maturity of the child. Some teenagers are able to handle these relationships many can't. If there is actual abuse by all means charge with a crime, but it should not be a snap judgment.