Welcome to the July issue of Diversity Rules Magazine. It is a somber issue memorializing the massacre of 49 of our fellow compatriots in Orlando, Florida. What a difference one year makes.
Last year we were celebrating a momentous victory before the Supreme Court when same sex marriage was legalized throughout the land. Pride celebrations were brimming with excitement and joy that a major battle had been won despite the efforts of our detractors who tried to deny us our right to marry.
This year, however, pride celebrations have been marked with memorial services remembering those who died in a horrific mass shooting at the hands of a confused homophobic maniac. Our souls were rocked on that fateful 12th of June when news rang out all over major news outlets that another mass shooting had occurred. This time in a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida.
It is unfathomable how a person can harbor such hate in their heart for their fellow humans. We should be used to it by now, but how does one get used to the killing of innocent people for no apparent reason other than just to do it or to do it because it i s grounded in hate and contempt for someone who is different and does not fit one’s mold of how society should be.
This latest mass shooting has awakened a sleeping giant. The LGBTQ community has been jolted with the deaths of 49 of its own. Demands for gun control and other measures to help stave off more Orlandos have been heard all over the country.
Will something finally be done? That remains to be seen. With an election coming up in November, we have a chance to change course and begin to take substantive steps toward stemming the violence that seems to happen so often now. How many more lives will be lost before we say enough?
Hate knows no boundaries. It does not limit itself to those in big cities, as what happened in Orlando could very well happen anywhere in the country.
While we must be vigilant and stand guard against those who wish to do us harm, we must also not cower in fear. We must go about our lives and do whatever we can to try to stem the rages of hate and those that harbor it deep within the dark recesses of their hearts and minds.
I hope you enjoy this month’s issue. There is a lot of great information in this month’s issue.
As always, Diversity Rules Magazine would appreciate your subscription and advertising support! Please consider supporting your independent gay press! See you in August.