Mellissa Ross: Orlando Tragedy
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The beloved local journalist finds herself in a hot mess of a discussion in the aftermath of the tragic mass shooting in Orlando gay nightclub, Pulse Orlando. On this show she brings together Dr. Parvez Ahmed, Attorney Jimmy Midyette, and avid gun enthusiast Eric Friday. The results are um....well, check it out after the jump.
Read More: http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2016-jun-mellissa-ross-orlando-tragedy (http://www.metrojacksonville.com/article/2016-jun-mellissa-ross-orlando-tragedy)
I appreciate the diverse opinions expressed during the First Coast Connect session this week around this topic. And I'm so very glad that people are talking about it - we NEED to.
But there's a set of problems that I, as a member of the LGBTQIA community here in Jacksonville, see and want to raise awareness of.
My goal is not to personally attack anyone, but the "Orlando Strong" cartoon with the colorful ribbon... what does that ribbon stand for? It's not anything I connect with. It's 5 colors, not the 6 rainbow colors typically used to denote LGBT Pride. It's upsetting to me that the wrong colors/flag is represented here - as if to say, this is other than an LGBTQIA crisis. You're not standing with me when you can't even acknowledge me.
Further, the gun "rights" guest speaker demonstrated gross insensitivity; a complete lack of understanding what the current issue is; and went so far as to make what happened on June 12th about his political agenda (in the interest of Florida Carry, Inc.) and to call gun ownership a "civil right". I'm glad Melissa was able to mention some facts and statistics... but his response during this talk upsets me as a queer person in Jacksonville. He cited 3 examples of armed citizens resolving an active shooter situation. Ignoring the 97% of incidence (statistics released by our own FBI) where this is not the case. Equivocating firearm ownership with basic human rights is degrading and indicative of the culture which supports firearms.
The assertion that this is the intersection of Islamaphobia, gun rights and LGBT equality is also a misrepresentation of the truth. It's certainly what some people are feeling and some reactions are based on those concepts. But the truth is: one person, with internalized homophobia, executed one of the worst massacres against people - specifically targeted at LGBTQIA - using a killing machine.
I want to encourage my fellow citizens of Jacksonville to raise your awareness on these issues. Have thoughtful and respectful conversations about it. Continue talking to each other, educating one another. But more importantly, DO SOMETHING about it!