*TRIGGER WARNING: Homophobia*

Just some context in case you haven't been keeping up to date with the news: On 12 June in Orlando, Pulse, a nightclub, was attacked by a gunman. 49 people were killed, and a further 53 wounded. This is the worst mass shooting in modern US history.

"But why should I care? How does this affect me?"

Here's why you should care: Pulse is an LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) nightclub. This attack was intended on hurting and killing innocent LGBT American youth, which in turn is an attack on the LGBT community, and a hate crime against the idea of free love and equality.

If you have any love in your heart, you will most certainly know how this affects you. We are all humans, and  we should all look out for each other and feel protected. But it's not that simple, is it? Clearly not. Violence should immediately perturb us all. The fact that it doesn't anymore, and how slow we are to react to it, emphasizes how blasé we've become to it. That is disturbing. We all share the same home, and we're not all going to get along, but violence will never present an answer. When has it ever?

Those 49 people were people. They were brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, mothers, daughters, husbands, best friends, cousins. They were innocent people. Innocent people being attacked for celebrating their sexuality in what should have been a safe place. No one in the world had the right to touch them, hurt them, or kill them.

It disgusts me that such hate crimes and violence against humanity are committed in a daily basis. We claim to be evolved creatures, but I've never seen anything more depraved. 

I've written an open letter to humanity challenging the idea that love and equality are exclusive. Leave me comments letting me know your thoughts on the letter and the recent events that have happened. 

Dear Humanity,

"What offends you so about two people being in love?

Would you rather see them hold guns at an open crowd?

Does their endless passion and unwavering truth upset you? Why? 

Do their intertwined hands and stripped souls make you angry? Why? 

Is it their gender? Their race? Those are social constructs, not laws or government amendments. 

They are free. You are caged by your predispositions and judgements. 

I believe in free love, free association, the rights of non-binary genders, and the LGBT community. 

I believe in the power of love to trump all hatred. I believe in equality as a non-exclusive human right. 

I am a Christian. I believe in the power of God, and the beauty of religion. I don't believe in a punishing God. I believe in a God that created you with every intention of you living a free, exciting life, filled with exploration, adventure, and fulfillment. 

Violence isn't necessary to extend your beliefs, or send a message. As humans, we decide which belief system, if any, is right in our hearts. We subscribe to ourselves first, and follow an appropriate lifestyle according to our needs. Who are you to tell me he shouldn't love his partner? Why shouldn't she change to become who she was born to be? A human is a human. Love is love. It is all the same. The same love.

It is when people of different beliefs, identities, races, or orientations are attacked to prove a point, or suppress a group or identity, that it becomes a problem. Here it becomes clear that we are nowhere near the harmonious world we should be living in.

I believe in the endless possibilities of the human race, and I believe in our ability to abolish hatred and ferocity towards our brothers, and live in harmony as children of the sun. 

So why, please tell me, do you chose to hate?"

XO