The Orlando shooting had the nation (and world) in shock in early June of this year.
Shooter Omar Mateen killed 49 people and injured 53 – many of whom were members of the LGBTQ and Latin community – with an assault rifle during a lively night at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida. The shooting attacked innocent men and women, as well as targeted the thriving diversity in today’s culture.
As the death toll mounts, faith in humanity fades. Until stories emerge offering a glimmer of hope that even in the wake of tragedy, love and generosity unites us as a human race.
ENTITY found a few of those stories:
On the Sunday morning after the shooting, hundreds of supporters lined up in Central Florida to donate blood to the victims of the attack. Many were there because they wanted to help in any way that they could. Pat Michaels, a spokesman for OneBlood told the Orlando Sentinel, “I’ve been here 13 years and never seen a response like this.”
OneBlood was so overwhelmed by all the support that they had to schedule appointments for the massive crowds. Putting out a call for blood types O negative, O positive and AB plasma, the blood bank received many hurried replies. One of the prospective donors, Micah James, said he never went to that club before, but he didn’t care. “We’re all made of the same stuff, flesh, and bone and blood per the Orlando Sentinel,” he said.
People’s eagerness to donate blood even though some may not even have any connection to the shooting at all shows the world that people can set differences aside in order to support one another in times of grief.
Solidarity did not present itself just in the United States. People of all backgrounds around the world showed their support by holding countless vigils and memorials. Landmarks like the Eiffel Tower were lit with pride colors to display support for the LGBTQ community. The flags of Puerto Rico and Mexico appeared at memorials to show solidarity with the victims. Even at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, wands were raised in the air to pay tribute to those who lost their lives during the shooting.
No matter where people were, they stood in solidarity with those who lost their lives.
One of the club-goers during that night, Josh McGill, managed to escape the club uninjured, but he noticed a bloody man stumbling towards him asking for help. McGill found two bullet wounds on the man – one in each of the man’s arm and another in his back. He took his and the man’s shirt to wrap around each arm to stop the bleeding. He then helped the man to safety at the police perimeter less than a hundred feet away. A police car was coming to take them to the emergency room, but according to the LA Times, McGill wrapped his arms around the injured man on the ride to the hospital in order to keep him conscious. McGill said, “Words cannot and will not describe the feeling of that. Being covered in blood. Trying to save a guy’s life that I don’t even know.”
Senator Christopher S. Murphy of Connecticut led Democrats to filibuster for 15 hours before yielding the floor to make a pledge for more gun control, according to The New York Times. He had the Senate floor for more than half the day starting at 11:21 a.m. in order to force Senator Mitch McConnell, (Rep. Kentucky) into voting to tighten the nation’s gun laws in the aftermath of the massacre in Orlando. He proved successful at 2 a.m. on Thursday when the agreement between McConnell and the Democratic leader, Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, was announced.
According to the New York Times, gun control advocates want two amendments to pass – one that would prevent people on the government’s terrorism watchlist from buying guns and another that would expand background checks. Each of these amendments were voted for after the terrorist shooting in San Bernardino, California, but both still failed.
With politicians like Murphy who are striving for a change so that shootings like Orlando won’t happen again, our country’s future is looking brighter.
