Florida: Another mass shooting in another nightclub

The news comes a month after the deadly massacre at the gay nightclub in Florida that left 50 people dead and many other injured. The gunman Omar Mateen initially opened fire point blank and then held some of them hostage. He was shot and killed after a three-hour standoff with the police forces. Before that, however, Mateen had called 911, declaring that he was the shooter and that he was doing this on behalf of the Islamic State. Mateen was later found to have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State. While the attack was inspired by the terror group, it wasn’t directed by them. Doubts were also cast on his being a homosexual himself.

The attack was the deadliest terror act that the US saw after the attack on the twin towers of the World Trade Center, on September 11, 2001. It was also a most violent act against the LGBT community in the US. After the attack, the whole world came out in support of the LGBT community, with pride parades held all over to show solidarity.

Shootings in the US are reminders of the gun control debate that remains a contested terrain. After the gay nightclub massacre, Sen. Chris Murphy spoke for 15 hours, holding a filibuster in order to get the gun control bill passed. However, the US Senate rejected the four measures restricting gun sales dealing a bitter setback to advocates who have failed to get even modest gun curbs through Congress despite repeated mass shootings.

(with inputs from agencies)