An Act of Hate in a Place of Gay Pride

When President Barack Obama addressed the nation on Sunday, just hours after the worst mass shooting in American history, he tried to untangle what was known about the motives of the murderer. “Although it’s still early in the investigation,” he said, speaking from the White House, “we know enough to say that this was an act of terror and an act of hate.” The shooter, Omar Siddiqui Mateen, had claimed allegiance to ISIS in a call to 911 before killing forty-nine people. He took an assault rifle and a handgun into Pulse, a popular gay bar—billed as “Orlando’s Premier Gay Night Club”—during Gay Pride month. The choice of target does not seem coincidental.