【2022 Archives】

In the hours after Omar Mateen stormed a gay nightclub in Florida022 Archives killing 49 people and wounding another 53 victims, the public searched desperately for answers about his motivation. 

When law enforcement reported that Mateen, a 29-year-old U.S. citizen, swore allegiance to the self-proclaimed Islamic State, some rushed to characterize his deadly rampage as an act of terrorism with no meaning or moral but to inflict suffering on Americans.

SEE ALSO: How 'bathroom bills' started an online war over transgender rights

Those who advocate on behalf of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights, however, saw another sinister motive at work: hatred of people whose sexual orientation or gender identity defies some religious and cultural norms. 

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Several advocacy organizations have since addressed the Orlando attack not only as a tragic incident of domestic terrorism, but also a moment to reflect on rhetoric and legislation that denies LGBT people rights or threatens to dehumanize them. That, they argue, includes the increasingly pitched battle over bathrooms that accommodate transgender people. 

"I hope this is a wake-up call to anybody spewing hateful remarks." 

"I hope this is a wake-up call to anybody spewing hateful remarks, whether that’s from a church pulpit or at a political rally," said Jay Brown, director of communications for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer civil rights organization Human Rights Campaign. 

"[Mateen] may have been inspired by [ISIS], but he was born and raised in the U.S. He was not immune to the environment in this country," Brown said. "To not have a conversation about this and not look inward about what we're doing in our own country is irresponsible." 

Advocates believe Mateen's views could have been, in the past or present, encouraged not only by ISIS, which has targeted LGBT people abroad, but also by domestic anti-LGBT policy and rhetoric. 

Mateen reportedly held strong anti-LGBT beliefs; his father, Seddique Mir Mateen, told the media that his son was enraged upon recently seeing two men kiss in public. His ex-wife told the New York Times that Mateen showed "intolerance" toward gay people when angry. 

Indeed, Mateen may have had a more complicated relationship with sexuality beyond the public's comprehension. On Monday evening, MSNBC reported that Mateen may have used a gay dating app. 

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Such revelations, however, do not change the fact that many LGBT advocates feel legal and cultural progress, like the the Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage and the increased visibility of transgender people, has come with considerable — and sometimes violent — backlash. 

In 2015, at least 21 transgender people were murdered, the highest rate on record yet, according to the Human Rights Campaign. 

"We’ve got to recognize that we’ve created a culture and environment where people feel free to do that," said Shannon Minter, legal director for the National Center for Lesbian Rights. 

State legislatures, advocates say, have also helped promote discriminatory views. Since the start of 2016, statehouses have proposed nearly 200 bills described by the Human Rights Campaign as "anti-LGBT."

Many of these laws focus on how transgender students and people use public bathrooms and locker rooms. None of these has received more attention than the North Carolina law passed in March, which forbids transgender people from using public bathroom and locker room facilities that correspond to their gender identity.

Make no mistake, these laws and the pandering of so many elected officials to those who promote anti-LGBT bias foster a toxic climate

— NCLR (@NCLRights) June 13, 2016

Minter hopes that the Orlando attack leads to "serious soul searching" about the debate over LGBT rights. 

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"It is a real moment of conscience where [people] are going to stick their head in the sand and pretend they have no accountability or be more careful going forward," Minter told Mashable.

That includes, Minter added, language portraying transgender, lesbian, gay, bisexual or queer people as choosing an immoral lifestyle. While such characterizations are less socially acceptable when it comes to lesbian, gay and bisexual people, it's not yet widely unpopular to criticize transgender people on the same grounds. 

Some opponents of transgender rights, for example, openly misgender transgender people, purposefully using the wrong pronoun while calling into question the concept of gender identity.

It seems unlikely, however, that opponents of LGBT rights like same-sex marriage and transgender equality will see the Orlando attack as a turning point. 

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When conservative politicians Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Gov. Pat McCrory (R-N.C.) and former Gov. Mike Huckabee (R-Ark.) tweeted their sympathies on Sunday, none mentioned that the victims may have been targeted because of their gender identity and sexual orientation — or that they have each opposed laws to provide LGBT people with increased legal rights and protection. 

The Republican National Committee, which encouraged states to pass so-called bathroom bills earlier this year, issued a statement about the attack that mostly focused on "radical Islam." It made no mention of the victims' sexuality or that they were at a gay nightclub. 

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In contrast, President Barack Obama was explicit about that connection when he addressed the country on Sunday: 

This is an especially heartbreaking day for all our friends— our fellow Americans — who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. The shooter targeted a nightclub where people came together to be with friends, to dance and to sing, and to live. The place where they were attacked is more than a nightclub — it is a place of solidarity and empowerment where people have come together to raise awareness, to speak their minds, and to advocate for their civil rights.

Some conservatives fundamentally disagree with focusing on the sexual or gender identity of victims, or the idea that the attack should prompt reflection about the debate over LGBT rights. Erick Erickson, a conservative writer, criticized "gay rights activists" for "turning terror to politics." 

"I did not know and did not understand that he has anger in his heart.” 

Mathew Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel, a nonprofit organization that litigates religious freedom cases and represented Kim Davis, the Kentucky clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses following the Supreme Court's decision on same-sex marriage, also bemoaned "political posturing."  

"Some want to turn this into a gun control issue," he wrote in an email to Mashable. "Others are wanting to turn this into a campaign issue. Still others are wanting to use this tragedy to promote LGBT issues and blame anyone who does not endorse the LGBT agenda." 

There are conservatives who believe that being lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender is wrong and still see value in maintaining a civil dialogue. The Christian ministry organization Focus on the Family, for instance, despairs over the "prominence of transgenderism in our culture," yet also advises its followers to "keep it kind" and avoid mocking people who are "gender confused." 

That language, however well-intentioned, is likely insulting to transgender people, who don't see themselves as "confused." Jeff Johnston, an issues analyst at Focus on the Family, believes there is a place for the organization's rhetoric in the public debate.

SEE ALSO: LGBTQ people share their stories of violence and resilience

"People are made in God’s image, and worthy of respect," he said in an email to Mashable. 

That the organization describes transgender people as "broken," he said, shouldn't be seen as a judgment specific to those individuals. "The Bible portrays all people as broken and confused, lost and sinful," he said. "That covers everyone." 

For their part, some LGBT advocates say that political and personal disagreement isn't an endorsement of hatred or violence, but do question how that can contribute to a potentially dangerous dynamic. 

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"I think there are a lot of people opposed to equality for LGBT people who don’t want to see physical harm happen to LGBT people," said Kasey Suffredini, chief program officer for the non-discrimination campaign Freedom for All Americans. "But what they don’t understand is that when you look at a group as second-class citizens, you create a climate where you embolden people who would do us harm."

While the public may never know what or who encouraged Mateen to attack people in a gay nightclub, it's clear that others perceived his homophobia but did not fully understand how anti-LGBT rhetoric may have influenced him, or the depth of his rage and its deadly potential.

On Monday, Mateen's father posted a video to his own Facebook account, expressing confusion and shock over his son's actions, according to the New York Times.

"I did not know and did not understand that he has anger in his heart,” he said. 

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