The Orlando Tragedy, and Washington's Response

The hellish tragedy that befell attendees of a popular
Orlando, Florida nightclub, has had repercussions and
responses innumerable in the days that followed.
We all know the gory numbers: 49 dead, 53 wounded.
We also know that the killer had pledged himself to
ISIS and to their jihad, taking a gun into Pulse nightclub
to make his bloody contribution to the cause he embraced.
Our president's response? At least this time, unlike the
Fort Hood and San Bernadino shootings, Obama actually
used the word "terror" in connection to this horrible event.
But he still couldn't bring himself to use the term
"Islamic terror" to describe it. And his fellow Democrats
on Capitol Hill? They are, as I write this, having a sit-in
a' la the '60s, calling for new federal gun control legis-
lation as a "preventative measure" to ensure that no more
such slaughters will take place in the U.S.

But here's the rub: the shooter was employed as a security
guard, and had been issued a Class 3 licence, which allowed
him to carry a firearm in the course of his duties. He also
had no difficulty in obtaining a firearm for his personal use,
as he had been able to obtain a firearm licence with ease.
He passed a psychological exam as a condition of his employ-
ment. He underwent a background check which produced no
red flags.

But in May 2013 and in July 2014 the killer became a person
of interest to the FBI in connection with remarks he made to
coworkers about having family connections to Al -Qaeda
and being a member of Hezbollah. He was removed by his
employer from his post and the county sheriff reported him
to the FBI. He also made remarks about hating Jews and
other minorities, as well as homosexuals while on the job
and in social situations away from work. Did this bring any
serious scrutiny to bear? Hardly.

And then, on June 12, the murderous jihadist shot up Pulse,
a gay nightclub in Orlando. Obama blamed the slaughter on
a lack of gun control laws and his fellow Dems fell in line
with him. But something noteworthy happened: some gay
people in Orlando, as well as in other cities around the
country, have openly disagreed with Obama and the Dems
as to the cause of the tragedy: they pin the blame on radical
Islam and its adherents, who consider anyone who isn't
Muslim (as well as anyone who is gay) to be fit only for
wiping out. One of the Democrat Party's major constituency
groups isn't buying their party's line on this terrible episode,
and they also are not in agreement regarding any need for more
gun control laws; moreover, many of these folks are planing
on buying firearms and taking training in how to use their
weapons. They must be asking themselves whom does
President Obama and the Democrats place a higher political
value upon, gay Americans or the followers of Islam, be they
citizens or visitors?

These aforementioned gays are not fools; they know who their
enemy is, they know the threat that their enemy poses to not only
them but to us all in the U.S. And they certainly realize that the
president's response to the Orlando nightmare is not merely
inadequate but feckless and irresponsible, for among other things
Obama would not name the very enemy which we must, as a
nation, acknowledge as our enemy, the danger it poses to us,
and the need to actually take steps to resist and repel said
enemy. Political correctness, nicey-nicey thoughts and wishy-
washy sentiments are not going to cut it. The question, then,
is can they get the president, which so many of them supported
for the office, to listen to them and take appropriate action?
And how about the Democrat members of Congress, basking
in their '60s style moralistic self-indulgence?

The Orlando gay community, and all Americans, deserve better
then what Washington is treating us to. This November, we
have an opportunity to get that better thing.


MEM