3 years later…The Pulse Night Club Shooting

3 years after this tragedy, how much have we grown?

June 12, 2019

Hello Residents of Orlando and followers from around the world. The words that follow may be hard to read. If you are easily offended please stop reading now. But if 

Today marks the 3 year anniversary of the tragic and hateful event that occurred at the Pulse Night Club. A place where patrons, staff and guest performers…

One thing that most people don’t realize about the Orlando shooting is that we, as a community, are no stranger to anti-LGBT violence and LGBT attacks.

We’ve seen countless of attacks against our LGBT brothers and sisters. If the dead could speak, they would tell tales of unimaginable brutality done to them. We know that this wasn’t the first– and neither will it be the last.

Obviously, trying to come up with a list of recorded attacks would be too long to write (and suck out all the joy in our lives for the next few days). We’re not even talking here about the individual or the unrecorded attacks, which are too many to count.

That’s why we’re listing only five recorded attacks against the LGBT community here, to remember those times so that we may remain vigilant.

LGBT attacks: Jerusalem, 2015

During a gay parade in Jerusalem in 2015, an ultra-Orthodox Jew stabbed six people participating in the march. One of the victims, 16-year old Shira Banki, was rushed to the hospital but eventually died.

This wasn’t the first time the assailant Yishai Schlissel had perpetuated this attack. He pulled off the same brutal assault in 2005. Schlissel, who carried extremist Jewish views, was seen pulling a knife from his coat and suddenly stabbed marchers.

LGBT attacks: Moscow, 2013

The Central Station was known as the biggest gay venue in Moscow. But in 2013, it had to close shop when it was continuously fired at with guns and noxious fumes were released inside the club.

Anti-gay thugs were also seen dismantling Central Station’s roof. While the owners filed 30 complaints to the police, nothing was done.

In 2014, Central Station opened in a different location. However, this time, our LGBT comrades were now prepared by installing bullet-proof walls.

LGBT attacks: Virginia, 2000

As with Pulse, a man went inside Backstreet Café in Roanoke, Virginia and started shooting the patrons inside the gay bar. He killed one person and wounded six more.

Ronald Edward Gay, 53, told the police he wanted to kill gay people. He had asked around for the nearest gay bar and declared he was going to shoot gays. This was done a week after Roanoke celebrated Gay Pride.

LGBT attacks: Atlanta, 1997

The Otherside Lounge in Atlanta was a lesbian bar. In 1997, the same bomber that attacked the 1996 Summer Olympics– Eric Rudolph– threw a nail bomb on the bar’s patio, wounding five people. At the time of the attack, there were at least 100 gays and lesbian in the club.

Rudolph, who pleaded guilty to both bombings, said the attack “was meant to send a powerful message in protest of Washington’s continued tolerance and support for the homosexual political agenda.”

LGBT attacks: New Orleans, 1973

The year 1973 was the worst in LGBT intolerance after the gay bar UpStairs Lounge in New Orleans was intentionally set on fire that resulted in the deaths of 32 people.

Sadly, the attacker was never caught but what made it worse was that politicians were mum on the event and the media mocked the tragedy with jokes. Churches, on the other hand, refused to allow funerals for the victims.

Though this tragic event was largely forgotten, it was brought up once more in the wake of the Orlando shooting.

Sources:

National Geographic

BBC

GayStarNews

ABC News

New York Times

New York Times

Vimeo