Currently 50+ dead, another 50+ wounded. Thoughts and prayers to those affected.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-florida-shooting-nightclub-idUSKCN0YY08B http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3637414/Everyone-running-Gunman-bursts-gay-nightclub-Florida-shoots-20-people-taking-hostages.html

It's looking like another act of terrorism.

Looks like it.

I'm... stunned. I read this initially on Tumblr and started crying. I can't fathom being that... hateful to anyone on premise of their sexuality. I can't.

You are aware of treatment of gays in Muslim countries? It doesn't surprise me at all.

Being aware of others' hatred doesn't mean you can understand it. It doesn't mean events like this shouldn't be shocking and saddening.

In general, for everyone: Keep in mind this shooter was born in Florida, they're saying. This person obtained an illegal firearm, and killed 50 people in a gay nightclub during a party... in the midst of anti-LGBT sentiment in the U.S.

Was this connected to larger world-wide terror? I don't know. The authorities don't even know yet. The point is that it is a terrible, tragic thing that just happened... and no one should be deadened to it, or think (as the TV keeps blurting out) that we can do nothing to stop it.

I'm going to have to disagree with part of your first paragraph. If you're aware of the hate, you should understand the reasoning behind it. Approve, no. Support, no. Understand, yes. And did I say anywhere that it was not shocking and saddening?

Please define anti-LGBT? Are you referring to the fact that a great many people believe firmly in traditional marriage? Or perhaps that many people are drawing a line in the sand about bathrooms and dressing rooms? You'll find few, if any, of those people who are not utterly horrified by the thought of murdering people because of their orientation.

As for it being terrorism, yes, it's not proven yet. I said it's looking that way and the more I hear of the shooter, the more I lean that way.

I... have no idea what to say back to that.

Perhaps I should clarify. When I say understand, I don't mean in the definition of approve. I mean in the definition of seeing the reasoning behind WHY they are doing it. It's wrong, it's evil and it goes against all humanity.

...This shooting happened 5 minutes from where I live. I know quite a few members of the LGBT+ community... no one that I knew was in the club though. But still, this makes me sick to my stomach.

I use the street that the club is on every week as part of my commute. I actually pass by that club... but I never gave it a second thought before. I tried going down that street earlier today, but it was shut down. There's cameras and police everywhere. There's a helicopter that's been hovering over the area all day. I can hear the helicopter from my house. The club's parking lot and around there is soaked in blood... it's grotesque.

The good news is a lot of people have gone to donate blood... so much that Oneblood has told people to come back later in the week.

I'm just... beyond upset.

When I mentioned being shocked... you had stated that it wasn't surprising. Understanding a fact is different from understanding as a sympathetic word. The word has two usages, and in text, these can be difficult to keep clear.

I can comprehend the fact that there are those who hate LGBT individuals, and the fact that they have certain reasons, but I do not understand, as a sympathetic term, their reasoning and how they can live their lives that way. I can know it, but I cannot translate it into something I sympathize with.

I'm not trying to fight you. The first line of my post was meant to reference your post, none of the rest of it. When I see people talking about how this isn't surprising, or this is just another act of ____ (insert whatever group you please), these sorts of attitudes (only assumed attitudes, in your case, please be aware of my general meaning) tend to foster apathy because the situation then starts to seem so overwhelming and unsolvable that people give up. Or it becomes routine, and it is ignored. The latter is a huge problem in America, in general.

As for people in this country wishing to murder LGBT-identifying people? Yes. Yes they do. And it happens. More than you'd probably like to think. Or they get bullied unto suicide, purposefully. Is it the way 100% of people live in this country? No. However, America is not a country free of LGBT hate and hate crime.

It has been confirmed that ISIS took responsibility for the attack.

My girlfriend is in Orlando visiting her dad. She's okay thank god, but her friend went clubbing last night and isn't answering his phone. We're terrified.

When can we talk about the homophobia running rampant in the Islamic community the same way we can talk about the homophobia in the Christian community. No one denies that Christianity has a problem with homophobia that is only now (and VERY SLOWLY AND VERY SELECTIVELY) getting remedied. So why is one safe from censure and one isn't?

I'm so tired of my community being killed. I'm so tired of us dying and then being told to "play nice" and not rage against our oppressors

im hearing reports that the shooter was not a practicing muslim so =/ you can be a homophobe without being religious, and without that being tied to any ethnic/religious heritage

Moments before he entered the club he called 911 and pledged allegiance to ISIS

oh my bad, ive seen conflicting reports saying some vague things. so from my understanding, he wasn't really practicing and then became associated with the group more recently.

His ex-wife whom he hasn't seen since 2011 said he wasn't very religious. A lot can change in 5 years. Regardless, ISIS is an islamic terrorist group and he pledged allegiance to it. That cannot be disputed

Some people are in ISIS and not even religious either.

I am utterly sad and disappointed. It is not the first nor the last hate crime that will happen regarding sexual orientation, open marriage, having a child without being wed, abortion etc ... My heart is for the families, friends and people of the community. As an A myself, it makes me sad to see such hatred.

It's horrible, especially since I posted on the Anti-LGBTQ thread last night.

For what it's worth, I cannot understand (sympathetic term) either. Bullying of any sort (and it's not limited to LGBT) to the point of driving teens to suicide is beyond the pale. Hating someone for what they are is beyond the pale. Killing them, well, there are no words for that...