I haven’t post­ed any­thing on the hor­rif­ic mass shoot­ing because like most of you, I’ve been in shock, try­ing to learn and try­ing to make sense of some­thing that will nev­er make any sense. I don’t have any pro­found insights on the shoot­ing. I don’t want to claim I know the real rea­son this hap­pened and I don’t want to mansplain a list of fix­es that will keep it from ever hap­pen­ing again. I’m griev­ing for the vic­tims and their families.

I ache for my LGBTQI fam­i­ly who are too used to ran­dom vio­lence, both mass and per­son­al. I wor­ry for the way the shooter’s eth­nic­i­ty and alle­giance will only be used to jus­ti­fy more big­otry and vio­lence. I’m sick of liv­ing in a world where ISIL thinks mass shoot­ings are a jus­ti­fi­able polit­i­cal state­ment and I’m sick of liv­ing in a coun­try where the NRA and its politi­cians think it’s okay to sell military-grade assault weapons. I pray for sim­ple things: love, heal­ing, con­so­la­tion. And I cry inside and out. Life and love will win out.

And, from Friends Jour­nal: