I'm sitting here remembering the joy and pride I felt about this time last year, standing with Colin, Brent, Shelly, Claire and others, as we watched the Gay Pride parade in San Francisco, just days after the Supreme Court announced it's decision on gay marriage. I couldn't stop tearing up (Brent too), as I watched something I never believed I'd witness in my lifetime. I couldn't help but think we'd turned a corner.
Tonight I'm wrapping my mind around the fact that this nation's deadliest mass shooting incident has targeted gay men and women in Orlando. Over 50 gay men and women dead, massacered while celebrating gay pride, in a gay nightclub. A place where we generally feel safe, accepted and at ease. The sadness in my heart is almost overwhelming. It again feels like one step forward, two steps back. I can reason that this is the act of one deranged individual, but it feels like I let my guard down. It does comfort me that this time we have a President that will stand up and condemn this an act of hate against the gay community.
It's no surprise that Donald Trump is already using the tragedy to re-emphasize his message of hate against the Muslim community, and that enrages me! I should probably refrain from using this event to express my own political views, but how many more mass shootings are we going to have to endure before we make some real changes in the way we offer up weapons for these assholes to use to slaughter us?
Just so, so sad, and so disappointed right now.