Massacre in Orlando

Sunday morning’s shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla., was described by President Obama as both an act of terror and an act of hate. That another tragic mass shooting occurred on American soil is beyond disturbing — it’s devastating.

A total of 49 out of an estimated 320 people in the club were killed; another 53 were wounded, some critically.

The rampage was the act of Omar Mateen, a 29-year-old from New York living in Fort Pierce, Fla., roughly two hours from the scene of the crime. Mateen, who pledged his support to the Islamic State in a 911 call minutes before the shooting, was strongly opposed to homosexuality, according to some reports. One report in The New York Times cited a co-worker of Mateen’s who said he frequently spoke of “killing people and voiced hatred of gays, blacks, women and Jews.”

That such hatred could be carried out in acts of terror is becoming more and more common these days. It may even seem natural to feel desensitized, but let’s hope we’re not. These killings are just as terrifying now as when they were still something new to the world.

“Lone wolf” attacks, like the Orlando shooting is believed to be, are a danger no matter where one lives — the Middle East, Africa, Europe — the U.S. Once, thinking about terrorists operating in America seemed impossible. These days, however, it’s simply the reality.

Ever since 9/11 we have come to accept that terrorists can strike anywhere, at any time. How are we supposed to process such terrorism? How are we supposed to process mass shootings? How are we supposed to accept them as part of the norm? How are we supposed to heal as a nation when we have to constantly be looking over our shoulders for the next attacker?

Those aren’t easy questions. The answers, if there are any, might come with our next administration. The day following the Orlando shootings, presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump and presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton both made statements. Trump cried for “toughness and vigilance,” while Clinton called for “defeating international terror groups, working with allies and partners, to go after them wherever they are.”

That’s a start, sure, but the issue begs for closer inspection. Gun control laws, for one, need to be re-examined. 

Mateen, who worked as a security guard, had legally bought a long gun and a pistol a week or two before the shootings. There’s not been confirmation yet if those are the handgun and the AR-15-type of assault rifle used in the attack on Pulse.

Regardless, it shouldn’t be so easy for everyone to access deadly weapons. We’re not looking to curtail the Second Amendment — but we do think a closer inspection of our gun laws is merited. There need to be smart laws aimed at protecting our right to bear arms while simultaneously protecting society-at-large. 

Killings like the Sandyhook Elementary School massacre, which took the lives of 20 first-graders and six adults; the San Bernardino shooting, which killed 14 people and wounded 22 more; the Roseburg, Ore., shooting, in which eight students and a teacher at Umpqua Community College were shot and killed; the Chattanooga, Tenn., killings of four Marines and a Navy sailor and injury of three others; the Charleston, S.C., church shooting that killed nine people — these are just a few examples.

Clearly, there is a problem. Until a solution is found, we are all at risk. Let’s hope all sides of the aisle can work on this issue together. Let’s hope we can begin to put such violence behind us, and make acts of terror a rarity instead of commonplace. Let’s hope our nation can begin to heal and grow stronger. Let’s hope.