Orlando, Florida, USA

June 18, 2016

By now the whole world has heard about the sad, tragic events in Orlando, Florida early last Sunday morning.

Orlando joins a long list of other places and times where the same sad events also happened: Virginia Tech, Sandy Hook, Fort Hood, San Bernardino, Aurora, and more.

Orlando is about more than gun rights, terrorism, security, etc. Unfortunately, some are exploiting the Orlando violence for their own political or personal agendas. But the primary issue is: Do we have the right to be who we are and to live our lives accordingly?

Omar Mateen, the gunman, targeted people that fateful night in Florida because of who they were and how they lived their lives. It was not a random attack. It was an attack on a basic human right we all have as children of God and as divine beings of light.

Those people who died and were hurt that night are our brothers and sisters. They are one of us. We are one of them. Regardless of our sexual choices and beings.

(Ironically, Mateen may have had homosexual feelings himself.)

What will Orlando be like in 100 years? I don’t know. But we can all envision a more peaceful time, a more loving and compassionate time. Not only for Orlando, but for the United States, for the world. We’re all in this together.

I know some of you reading this are among our sisters and brothers who do not conform to society’s sexual expectations. My heart goes out to you. May God bless you all.

We wrote a post a few years ago about this issue of sexuality. It was timely then, and even more timely today. You can revisit it here.