pulse shooting in orlando, FL

[Daughter of Mew]

It's shocking to think that anyone could harbour so much hate for a group of people that they actively attempt to destroy them. The fact that this happened during Pride is the worst part, as it's a time LGBT+ people should be embracing who they are, not living in fear. Normally I feel quite removed from mass murders (even ones in familiar places, like Paris) but this one really hit home.

From a UK perspective, where guns are very strictly regulated, the only thing I can blame it on are the guns. I've seen people claiming that they'd "find a way to kill regardless", but the fact is that having no access to powerful weapons really limits the damage a person can do. The US has 10.5 deaths per 100,000 due to guns (including accidents and suicides) compared to Canada's 2.0 and UK's 0.2, yet the problem is denied over and over.

It reminds me of an Onion article headline from a few years back. "‘No Way To Prevent This,’ Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens". While the US is far from the worst for gun crime/death in the world, it's definitely the worst among developed countries.