Orlando attack was a hate crime

June is Pride Month, a month dedicated to creating a positive stance against discrimination and violence toward lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people and to promote their self-affirmation, equal rights, dignity and visibility as a social group. One year after celebrating the most joyous pride month in American history, coinciding with the Supreme Court ruling that legalized same-sex marriage, this year our nation is faced with mourning and sorrow. Many out there are angry, upset and in complete disbelief about what took place at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla.

{mosads}Was it an act of terror? Yes. Was it a hate crime? Of course. Was it an act coated and based in homophobia? Absolutely. While some of our elected leaders and journalists have classified this incident as a hate crime against the LGBTQ community, others have made the cowardly choice of trying to erase LBGTQ folks from the tragic event. What happened almost a year ago in Charleston, S.C. at Mother Emmanuel Methodist Church was a hate crime against the African-American community. And if this weekend’s incident had taken place in a Jewish synagogue or a Baptist church, it would have been immediately deemed a hate crime.

Pulse nightclub, like so many other clubs throughout our country, is a safe and welcoming place of self-expression. When modern-day culture, family, friends and the community at large often marginalize folks because of whom they love, how they identify or how they choose to live their lives, places like Pulse stand in the gap with open arms to embrace them.

For all those who have been laser-focused on doubling-down on xenophobic rhetoric and codifying hate and discrimination in our nation’s laws, know that you, too, are guilty of crimes against humanity. By limiting self-expression, having superficial debates about who gets to use the bathroom, holding on to bigoted ideas about gay men donating blood, and by adhering to an ideology that speaks of hate toward the LGBTQ community, you are complicit.

Homegrown extremism can only take root in a society where hate has fertile ground to grow. When the GOP presumptive nominee talks of building walls; scapegoats the Muslim-American community by proposing a ban on Muslims traveling to the U.S.; uses hateful language against communities of color; and urges an impartial judge to recuse himself because of his heritage, we have created a fertile ground.

When the junior U.S. senator from Florida and a former GOP presidential candidate calls same-sex adoption a “social experiment,” vows to repeal executive orders that protect LGBTQ people from discrimination and supports organizations that back conversion therapy, we have created a fertile ground for extremism.

Not too long ago, we as a nation commemorated the 50th anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery march, the scene of a hate crime better known as “Bloody Sunday.” Following the horrifying pictures, newspaper headlines and telecast, our disgust for racism and bigotry pushed us to codify and guarantee the protection of our citizens and the right to vote.

We as a nation are now faced with the same choice. Now is the time for us to come together and urge the media to cover this incident better: coverage that calls this act what it is, a hate crime. Now is the time for us to strengthen our nation’s protection for LGBTQ individuals who want to live their lives in peace and happiness. Now is the time to end the ban on gay men giving blood. Now is the time to stop the proliferation of assault weapons. And, most importantly, now is the to stand up to hatred, bigotry and discrimination, whether it be at the office water cooler, the newsroom, in the LGBTQ community or on the campaign trail.

From the Stonewall riots to the murder of Matthew Shepard, from vicious beating and murder of Keyonna Monroe Blakeney to the horrifying massacre at the Pulse nightclub last weekend, let us mark this Pride Month as a turning point toward love, acceptance and inclusion. And let us build upon the legacy of those 49 souls by declaring that #TransLivesMatter, #BlackLivesMatter, #GayLivesMatter, #MuslimLivesMatter and #AmericanLivesMatter.

Fowler is the host of the nationally syndicated radio program “The Richard Fowler Show,” which can also be viewed on YouTube as an affiliate of The Young Turks network. He appears regularly on Fox News, MSNBC and C-SPAN. He is also a senior fellow for the New Leaders Council. Follow him on Twitter @RichardAFowler.