Eddie Justice was out having fun at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida on Saturday night, June 11. He simply wanted to relax and dance with his friends. He could never have imagined as he got ready to go out that evening, like millions of young people all over America do every Saturday, that he would be slaughtered, hours later. And slaughtered simply because he was in a gay nightclub and his murderer hated gay people.
That murderer, Omar Mateen, was easily able to buy an AR-15 style assault rifle plus loads of ammunition, even though he had been questioned by the FBI because of a possible terrorist connection. With his high-powered gun, the same style that was used to massacre 26 children and teachers at Sandy Hook Public School, Mateen was able to murder 49 people and injure 53 others.
Eddie Justice, found himself trapped inside the Pulse nightclub as Mateen gunned down his victims. “Mommy, I love you,” he typed on his phone to his mother. “In club, they shooting.” Then minutes later: “Trapped in bathroom. He’s coming. I’m gonna die.” His mother, Mina, received these heartbreaking texts and desperately waited for hours to find out if her beloved son was one of those murdered. He was.
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And this is so wrong. So wrong in so many ways. Hate has no place in our country. Hate for people who may be different from yourself. Hate for others of different religion, ethnic background, color, sexuality, gender or gender identity. Our strength is our acceptance of diversity.
And it’s so wrong that every type of military-style gun can be easily purchased. Even if a person has already been on any FBI watch list, like Mateen. Even if a person is on a no-fly list because of suspected terrorism links. Even if a person has a history of mental illness and even if a person has a history of domestic abuse. The NRA’s highly effective hold on Republican Congresspeople has ensure that federal laws for increased gun safety have not been passed and will not be passed in the foreseeable future.
Meanwhile, there will be more Eddie’s, more mass murders and more grieving mothers like Mina Justice, who will never see their innocent children alive again.
This is so wrong. This has to stop. Do you agree, Hollywoodlifers? Should there be stricter gun safety laws? Let me know.
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