As the LGBTQ community mourns with the rest of the United States with the news of the shooting in Parkland, Florida that left 17 dead, LGBTQ advocates condemned the continuing incidences of gun violence in the country.
The recent shooting tragedy– and the other past shooting incidences during the year– also reminds the community of its own tragedy: the Pulse shooting in June 2016 that left 49 people dead.
All of these highlight the fact that the LGBTQ community consider gun violence is also an LGBTQ issue.
LGBTQ groups speak out against the latest gun violence
Among the LGBTQ groups that spoke out against the recent gun violence were the statewide LGBTQ advocacy group, Equality Florida, and the Human Rights Campaign (HRC).
“Equality Florida joins our fellow Floridians and the nation in grieving the 17 lives taken and those injured in yet another school mass shooting,” said Equality Florida in a statement.
An LGBTQ group, The Pride Center, also said in a Facebook post: “at least 17 families and countless loved ones face unspeakable tragedy tonight in Broward County.”
The groups also renewed their calls for better gun control: “We remain as deeply committed today as we were two years ago, in the aftermath of the massacre at Pulse, to the fight for common sense gun legislation.”
On Twitter, The Pride Fund to End Gun Violence– a political action committee that was formed after the Pulse shooting– noted that the recent shooting was the 18th in a school for 2018.
“We need elected leaders who are committed to public safety. If they are not up to the task, it is up to us to vote them out of office. Our children are counting on us to keep them safe from harm,” the organization said.
LGBTQ groups against gun violence and better gun control
After the shooting at the Pulse nightclub, several organizations had called for stronger gun legislation.
Hayley Gorenberg, General Counsel for the LGBTQ civil rights group Lambda Legal, said back in 2016: “We can no longer be silent about gun violence as an LGBT issue.”
“After the slaughter at the Pulse gay club, any of us who have not yet raised our voices and contributed our energy to address gun violence must do so now,” Gorenberg added.
“The mass killings get more ink, but the individual killings add up to even more lives lost. And many of those lives are LGBT, often LGBT people of color,” she said.
Other LGBTQ groups also pushed for better gun controls. HRC declared that “that the safety of LGBTQ people in the United States requires the adoption of commonsense gun violence prevention measures.”
Equality California came up with a campaign called “Safe and Equal” that pushed “to end gun violence by advocating for tougher common sense gun safety laws at the federal and state levels.”
One LGBTQ group takes to Congress against gun violence
One group was specifically formed in the wake of the Orlando shooting: the Pride Fund to End Gun Violence.
This group is a political action committee (PAC) that pledges to support candidates that will enact “sensible gun policy reforms” while also act as LGBTQ champions on safety and equality.
“When a hate-filled individual can easily purchase a weapon of war without a background check, we are not safe,” group declared on their website.
“We are working with other gun reform organizations to mobilize the LGBTQ community and our allies, raise funds to counter the robust financial power of the NRA and gun manufacturers, and elect candidates who will champion these issues,” the group said.