when I heard the news from Orlando.

I'm crying for my fellow LGBTQ friends and families, and for our country.

And I also cried when I read this in the NY Times:

"Blood center is overloaded with people wanting to give blood in the aftermath of the #Pulse mass shooting."

Thank you for loving us so much.

❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥❤❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥
❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥❤❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥
❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥❤❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥
❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥❤❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥
❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥❤❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥
❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥❤❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥
❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥❤❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥
❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥❤❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥
❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥❤❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥
❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥❤❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥
❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥❤❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥
❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥❤❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥❤❤❤❤❥❥❥❥
(some things are too heartbreaking for words)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/12/2016 01:45PM by wine country girl.

I agree Wine Country Girl - some things are too heartbreaking for words.

My heart is overflowing with hatred at this moment, directed toward each human being who, despite lacking any semblance of authority, deigns to speak on behalf of a deity and thus rationalize his or her bigotry.

I hope I can come face to face with one of my so-called "brothers" from the church who opens his mouth and spews a little of this bigotry. He will regret it.

We must not respond to bigotry with love. We must respond to bigotry with hatred. There is a time for love. This is not the time.

There is a time for hatred. This is the time.

wow - the cycle continues.... this is really scary....

*HUGS* It's horrific. My heart sank too. It's impossible for me to even begin to comprehend that kind of thinking.

It was a soft target for the murderer. That's all it was for him: easy entry to get in and cause the most amount of carnage in the least amount of time. He picked the LGBT out of hatred, sure. It could've easily as been a shopping mall, a movie theatre, DisneyLand.

He picked there because it was night, people were drinking probably not very sober to react quickly, and caught off guard in an enclosed facility.

350 people were there inside when it started. 9 were shot outside the building, 39 inside. There were two not even there at the nightclub he murdered because they were in his path.

And his smirk for his selfie, shows his total arrogance and contempt he wore on his sleeve. What makes someone into a monster? How do we take them out before they begin? He's a product of living in a free society with little/no restrictions to our freedom of movement within this country.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 06/12/2016 12:55PM by Amyjo.

It is truly heartbreaking, PapaKen. So many people gone in minutes. It is devastating.

I'm so grateful someone shot this SOB so we don't have to live through a trial.

Now CNN is calling it the "worst mass shooting in 'modern' US history."

They are no doubt referring to earlier acts like the MMM and the Wounded Knee Massacre in 1890.

Yes ma'am, I noticed this too. Wolf mentioned it and my ears perked.

By a single shooter.

When the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma city was blown up
by Timothy McVeigh, the site got a placque saying it was the
sight of the worst domestic terrorist.

Until then the worst was MMM.

How many people there and not one had a gun to protect themselves?

Note that these mass shootings are in places where guns are banned, or unlikely for anyone to have one.

Either get rid of every last gun in the country (like we got rid of drugs, right?) or somebody had better start arming themselves.

Also, I was watching the NBA finals and some guy ran out on the court. They refused to show him so as to not reward the behavior.

On the contrary, we give these shooters all sorts of attention. We have some sick need to see this stuff, I guess, and apparently the news organizations take advantage. Probably make money from it.

Free Man Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> How many people there and not one had a gun to
> protect themselves?

There were, in fact, armed security people.

> Note that these mass shootings are in places where
> guns are banned, or unlikely for anyone to have
> one.

A completely false statement.

> Either get rid of every last gun in the country
> (like we got rid of drugs, right?) or somebody had
> better start arming themselves.

Got any evidence that having a bunch of armed people in the club would have prevented this? I'll bet you don't...

So imagine a public event. Big crowd, nobody is thinking about
the possibility of gunfire. Suddenly a shot rings out and
someone drops to the floor dead. Suppose further, that I, among
others, have my concealed carry weapon with me. I pull it out
and look around. I see a person holding a gun. What do I do?
Note that at this point I am a person holding a gun.

(((Papa Ken)))

The long lines to donate blood were indeed heartening. And bravo to the medical staff at the hospital who have been working valiantly to care for the wounded.

Don't make this into a topic about guns. It detracts from what should be happening right now, which is mourning for the people who died, and caring for the survivors.

I'm not saying there isn't a time to talk about it, nor am I even identifying which way I fall on the argument, but I can't stand it when people bring up guns in the immediate aftermath of a mass shooting. People did it in Newtown and San Bernadino and in my opinion it was disrespectful.

Youngest son, a gay man who works at a television studio, just announced that he will be working late tomorrow. A trans friend of his does a series of shows about her gender journey. She wants to record something about this Orlando horror and get it out there right away.

In the smallest of ways, it feels like doing SOMETHING to hold some dinner ready for him tomorrow.

Australian hearts sank too when we awoke to the news of the horrific shootings at the nightclub in Orlando.

I am sure that I echo the sentiments of a vast majority of Australians when I say that our loving thoughts go out to the families and loved ones of those who were killed or wounded in this devastating incident.

To you PapaKen and all the other LGBTQ posters on this board, my beautiful gay son and I would like to join you in a virtual group hug and two minutes silence for those who died last night.

Thank you so very much.

The Seattle- King County area is sending blood to Orlando;
this is a one-item news day.

Possibly related Recent news item from Thursday--- Ninth Circuit ruling says citizens Don't have a Constitutional Right to concealed carry...(I've only seen this coming once)

I am so heartbroken today

He hated others but probably loved, and lived, to die: "Death-By-Cowardice". Bastards (South Park)!

So messed up

Papa Ken, the people of Paris are with you: Eiffel tower in "gay" rainbow colours this evening...

It's only symbolic, obviously, but it's all we can do at the moment. Down with all cults.

Tom in Paris

Merci, Tomas, mon ami!

Minneapolis is lighting two bridges in Rainbow colors. The new 35W bridge and the Lowrey Avenue bridge. Also our Governor has ordered flags to half staff.

It breaks my heart to see people I know and love fearful because of pointless hate.

San Francisco has the rainbow flags lining Market Street.