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The aftermath of the Orlando shooting from terror attacks, gun control reform and LGBTQ rights

The deadliest US terror attack since 9/11 happened one year ago at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida. Monday also marks one year since the deadliest mass shooting and the worst attack on LGBTQ Americans in US history. Forty-nine people were killed and 53 were injured in the Pulse nightclub shooting on June 12, 2016.

There were voices calling the mass shooting in Orlando an act of terrorism, while others considered it a hate crime against the LGBT community. At the time of the gruesome attack, former President Barack Obama declared it an “act of terror and an act of hate.”

The gunman was Omar Mateen, a 29-year-old Muslim who was born and raised in the United States. Holding hostages during his standoff with police, Mateen claimed allegiance to a leader of the Islamic State militant group before he was killed in an exchange of gunfire with authorities.

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Officials believe Mateen was self-radicalized but he pledged fealty to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi before his death. “The real Muslims will never accept the filthy ways of the west,” Mateen posted on his Facebook page after committing his heinous act at Pulse nightclub. “I pledge my alliance to (ISIS leader) abu bakr al Baghdadi..may Allah accept me,” he wrote.

His widow, Noor Salman, was arrested in January on federal charges of aiding and abetting Mateen’s attempt to provide material support to a terrorist organisation, and lying to authorities investigating the massacre. She was not present for the attack and has pleaded not guilty.

After the Orlando massacre, Donald Trump tweeted that he “appreciated the congrats” on being right on “radical Islamic terrorism,” even though the perpetrator was born and raised in America. Trump also called for suspending immigration from countries with a history of terrorism.

On the first anniversary of the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history, officials asked Americans to join in acts of “love and kindness” to honour victims of the three-hour June 12 rampage at the now-shuttered gay club, including survivors still reeling from emotional and physical wounds.

One year since the Orlando shooting. The US still tackling with terrorist incidents

The United States Extremist Crime Database (ECBD) contains 2,500 extremist perpetrators. All committed a crime and supported either extreme far-right, ecoterrorism or jihadist ideologies. Since 1990, these extremists have been responsible for more than 1,000 ideologically motivated homicides, foiled plots, arsons or bombings in the U.S. The ECDB includes incidents that may be defined as both terrorism and hate crimes.

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Since the shooting on June 12, 2016, terror attacks and terrorism incidents on the US soil have been tackled by the authorities.

St. Cloud, Minnesota, September 17, 2016. Dahir Ahmed Adan, a 20-year-old Somali refugee, began hacking at people with a steak knife at a Minnesota mall, injuring nine people before he was shot dead by off-duty police officer Jason Falconer. The FBI said numerous witnesses heard Adan yelling “Allahu akbar!” and “Islam! Islam!” during the rampage. He also asked potential victims if they were Muslims before inflicting wounds in their heads, necks, and chests. The FBI believe he had recently become self-radicalized. (As the Daily Wire highlighted, the Minneapolis Star Tribune attempted to blame “anti-Muslim tensions” for his murderous actions.)

New York City/New Jersey, September 17, 2016. Ahmad Khan Rahami, a 28-year-old naturalised citizen from Afghanistan, set off multiple bombs in New York and New Jersey. In Chelsea, his bomb resulted in the injury of over 30 people. Rahami wrote in his journal that he was connected to “terrorist leaders,” and appears to have been heavily influenced by Sheikh Anwar, Anwar al-Awlaki, Nidal Hassan, and Osama bin Laden. “I pray to the beautiful wise ALLAH, [d]o not take JIHAD away from me,” Rahami wrote. “You [USA Government] continue your [unintelligible] slaught[er]” against the holy warriors, “be it Afghanistan, Iraq, Sham [Syria], Palestine … ”

Columbus, Ohio, November 28, 2016. Abdul Razak Ali Artan, an ISIS-inspired 20-year-old Somali refugee who had been granted permanent legal residence in 2014 after living in Pakistan for 7  years, attempted to run over his fellow Ohio State students on campus. After his car was stopped by a barrier, he got out of the vehicle and began hacking at people with a butcher knife before being shot dead by a campus police officer. He injured 11 people, one critically. ISIS took credit for the attack, describing Artan as their “soldier.” Just three minutes before his rampage, Artan posted a warning to America on Facebook that the “lone wolf attacks” will continue until America “give[s] peace to the Muslims.” He also praised deceased al-Qaeda cleric Anwar Al-Awlaki as a “hero.”

Fort Lauderdale 6 Jan 2017. A lone shooter opened fire at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Florida, killing five people and wounding six others before he was taken into custody. Almost 40 others would get hurt in the rushed evacuation after the attack, while 12,000 people evacuated from the airport. Esteban Santiago, the man charged with killing five people at the Fort Lauderdale airport, told FBI agents he carried out the attack on behalf of ISIS.

 

Fresno California, 18 April 2017. A man wanted in the slaying of a security guard set out to kill as many white people as he could on Tuesday, gunning down three men on the streets of downtown Fresno before he was captured and admitted to the shootings, authorities said.
Kori Ali Muhammad, 39, shouted “Allahu Akbar” — meaning “God is great” in Arabic — as police tackled the suspect to the ground after the shootings, Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer said.

What has changed since the Orlando massacre

On January 27, a week after being sworn in as president, Donald Trump signed an executive order instituting a travel ban on foreign nationals travelling from seven majority-Muslim countries – Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Yemen, and Somalia.

However, these countries have produced virtually no terrorist incidents or attacks in the US, according to Cato Institute: “Foreigners from those seven nations have killed zero Americans in terrorist attacks on U.S. soil between 1975 and the end of 2015.” As s of a 2015 study by the New America research centre, deaths caused by terrorism from right-wing nationalists since 9/11 have significantly exceeded those from Muslim extremists.

The countries that have produced and supported the greatest number of anti-U.S. terrorists (this is the case of countries such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, UAE) are excluded from the ban list. In addition, President Donald Trump employed hardline rhetoric as he pledged to defeat “radical Islamic terrorism”.

From 1975 to the end of 2015, 20 refugees have been convicted of attempting or committing terrorism on U.S. soil, and only three Americans have been killed in attacks committed by refugees—all in the 1970s. Zero Americans have been killed by Syrian refugees in a terrorist attack on U.S. soil. The annual chance of an American dying in a terrorist attack committed by a refugee is one in 3.6 billion.

The so-called Muslim ban has been received with protests by the American public and federal judges have appealed his attempts to impose the travel ban on immigrants.

Despite the opposition, President Donald Trump has vowed to impose the travel ban “in any event” and commented on the Supreme Court’s decision on this issue.

Last week, the Justice Department formally asked the Supreme Court to let a ban on visitors from six mostly Muslim countries and refugees from around the world to be put in place. The high court also is being asked to uphold the constitutionality of the Trump travel policy. So far, the lower courts have blocked so far because it shows anti-Muslim prejudice.

Call to action: Gun Reform and LGBTQ rights

On Sunday and Monday, LGBTQ marches and rallies took place across the United States are paying homage to the 49 people who were killed in the Pulse nightclub massacre. Activists are calling for more pro-LGBTQ political change.

Representatives blocked the pro-LGBTQ Competitive Workforce Act from receiving a House floor vote. The proposed law would prohibit employment, housing, and public space discrimination against LGBTQ people throughout the state. The state House’s legislative session ended May 5 and won’t start again until March of 2018.

Another important issue that has been discussed in the wake of the Orlando shooting is that of gun control reform. At the national level, Republicans in Congress have opposed gun control reform measures and the Trump administration has appointed an anti-LGBTQ head of the Health and Human Services civil rights division.

Along with the events in Orlando, vigils and rallies were planned across the United States in a show of solidarity with victims of the attack, which authorities called a hateful act against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people. On social media, supporters sought to call attention to their legacy with a campaign using the tag #HonorThemWithAction.

Alexa Stewart

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