WATCH LIVE: The Eiffel Tower Lit Up in Rainbow Colors For Orlando

The Eiffel Tower lit up in rainbow colors for the second night in a row in honor of the people who were brutally gunned down at the gay nightclub Pulse in Orlando, Florida on Sunday.

The tower was lit up on Sunday night in a rainbow scheme to show that Paris stands in solidarity with Orlando.

Paris stands with Orlando. Tonight @LaTourEiffel will wear the rainbow flag as a tribute to the victims. #lovewins pic.twitter.com/MDk4ZamrRg

— Anne Hidalgo (@Anne_Hidalgo) June 13, 2016

On Monday, the tower was lit up to more closely resemble the rainbow flag, a symbol synonymous with gay rights.

#ParisStandsWithOrlando #LoveWins pic.twitter.com/2OISfTuKxB

— La tour Eiffel (@LaTourEiffel) June 13, 2016

You can watch live video of the Eiffel Tower lit up in rainbow colors, below.

 

Paris was the site of two horrific terrorist attacks in recent years, first the Charlie Hebdo attack in January 2015 and the multi-pronged attack on the city in November of that year which included an attack on the Bataclan theatre.

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How Should We Respond? We Have to Love Our Lives Even More (Video)

Writer and trans activist Hannah Simpson expands on the advice that got cheers outside the Stonewall.

www.advocate.com/commentary/2016/6/13/how-should-we-respond-we-have-love-our-lives-even-more-video

PHOTOS: L.A. Pride Soldiers On

www.advocate.com/pride/2016/6/13/photos-la-pride-soldiers

Why It’s More Important Than Ever To Live Out And Proud

“It could have been us.”

I kept hearing that Sunday from friends at the Capital Pride Festival and on Facebook.

“It could have been us.”

We know that when we identify as LGBT, we become targets. Whether it’s bullies in schools, politicians who use us to score political points, or those who will go to violent extremes, we know that there are those out there who hate us and are willing to make their hate known.

And we deal with that. We keep in in the backs of our minds at all times. We all know people who have been harassed or the victims of violence – or we’ve experienced it directly ourselves.

We surround ourselves with friends and then we watch out for each other. We live in neighborhoods and cities where we feel safe. And we gather at places with other LGBT people to feel that sense of community and safety.

That’s why this event has shaken my community to its core today. It struck at a place that had become a place where they felt secure and safe and could be themselves. It sets off all of our fears of what could happen to us just because we exist.

So what do we do now?

First, we grieve for our LGBT family in Orlando: those who died or were injured and their loved ones and the entire Orlando LGBT community who have been devastated by this.

Second, we keep doing what we’ve been doing for decades now: be out and proud.

We need to keep coming out to our family, friends, and co-workers. We need to be affectionate with our significant others in public by holding hands or kissing. We need continue to push our elected officials – and those who want to be elected – to support full equality for LGBT Americans and to stop using our community as a punching bag to score points.

And we need to stand up to hatred and bigotry whenever and wherever we encounter it.

There will come a day when this kind of hatred and violence is history. We may not see it in our lifetimes, but it will come. And it’s our job to do all we can to help bring that day closer.

I’m closing this with one of my favorite songs, “O-O-H Child” by The Five Stairsteps. It’s my go-to song when I need to be reminded that there is still hope for the future.

That kind of hope for a brighter future has motivated the LGBTQ community for nearly half a century. That’s the hope we need to continue to hold onto even on dark days like this.

Chip Lewis is a DC-based writer and communications consultant. He’s also happy to share his numerous opinions on everything from politics to pop culture.

Photo: GMF Berlin

feedproxy.google.com/~r/queerty2/~3/5VgPhjua57Q/important-ever-live-proud-20160613

These Are the Victims We Know Of So Far From the Orlando Massacre – PHOTOS, VIDEOS

According to reports, 46 of the 49 victims massacred on Sunday at gay nightclub Pulse in Orlando, Florida have been identified.

ABC News shared a list of those individuals on Twitter.

46 of the 49 #Orlando shooting victims have been identified.

These are their names. t.co/nK8zluuVh3 pic.twitter.com/RglXrQhYG3

— ABC News (@ABC) June 13, 2016

The news service also shared a video showing pictures of 14 of those individuals.

These are the faces of 14 of the 49 #Orlando shooting victims. t.co/nK8zluMw8Bt.co/HLIHtXqaWp

— ABC News (@ABC) June 13, 2016

Andy Cohen posted a collage of some of the victims on Instagram on Monday.

 

As of this posting, the collage has been liked over 34,000 times.

This is the list of victims currently being shared by NBC News: 

•Edward Sotomayor Jr., 34.

•Stanley Almodovar III, 23.

•Luis Omar Ocasio-Capo, 20.

•Juan Ramon Guerrero, 22.

•Eric Ivan Ortiz-Rivera, 36.

•Peter O. Gonzalez-Cruz, 22.

•Luis S. Vielma, 22.

•Kimberly Morris, 37.

•Eddie Jamoldroy Justice, 30.

•Darryl Roman Burt II, 29.

•Deonka Deidra Drayton, 32.

•Alejandro Barrios Martinez, 21.

•Anthony Luis Laureanodisla, 25.

•Jean Carlos Mendez Perez, 35.

•Franky Jimmy Dejesus Velazquez, 50.

•Amanda Alvear, 25.

•Martin Benitez Torres, 33.

•Luis Daniel Wilson-Leon, 37.

•Mercedez Marisol Flores, 26.

•Xavier Emmanuel Serrano Rosado, 35.

•Gilberto Ramon Silva Menendez, 25.

•Simon Adrian Carrillo Fernandez, 31.

•Oscar A. Aracena-Montero, 26.

•Enrique L. Rios, Jr., 25.

•Miguel Angel Honorato, 30.

•Javier Jorge-Reyes, 40.

•Joel Rayon Paniagua, 32.

•Jason Benjamin Josaphat, 19.

•Cory James Connell, 21.

•Juan P. Rivera Velazquez, 37.

•Luis Daniel Conde, 39.

•Shane Evan Tomlinson, 33.

•Juan Chevez-Martinez, 25.

•Jerald Arthur Wright, 31.

•Leroy Valentin Fernandez, 25.

•Tevin Eugene Crosby, 25.

•Jonathan Antonio Camuy Vega, 24.

•Jean C. Nives Rodriguez, 27.

•Rodolfo Ayala-Ayala, 33.

•Brenda Lee Marquez McCool, 49.

•Yilmary Rodriguez Sulivan, 24.

•Christopher Andrew Leinonen, 32.

•Angel L. Candelario-Padro, 28.

•Frank Hernandez, 27.

•Paul Terrell Henry, 41.

BuzzFeed has also been compiling information on the victims of the horrific attack. 

Watch a news report on the victims of Sunday’s attack via Inside Edition, below.

The post These Are the Victims We Know Of So Far From the Orlando Massacre – PHOTOS, VIDEOS appeared first on Towleroad.

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Apple CEO Tim Cook Condemns Orlando Attack in Emotional Speech at WWDC: WATCH

Apple CEO Tim Cook took time out at the beginning of his address at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) on Monday to speak out against the horrific terrorist attack on the gay nightclub Pulse in Orlando, Florida on Sunday.

Said an emotional Cook,

“We offer our deepest sympathies to everyone whose lives were touched by this violence. It was [a] senseless, unconscionable act of terrorism and hate aimed at dividing and destroying. The Apple community is made up of people from all around the world, from all different backgrounds and all different points of view. We celebrate our diversity. We know that it makes us stronger and moves everyone forward.”

Cook then asked the audience to stand and join him for a moment of silence in honor of the victims.

On Sunday, Cook tweeted about the Orlando massacre calling it an “unspeakable tragedy.”

Our hearts go out to the victims of the unspeakable tragedy in #Orlando, their families and all who grieve with them.

— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) June 12, 2016

Cook, who is gay, publicly came out in 2014. 

Watch Cook address the WWDC, below.

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What Can We Learn from the People Who Knew Orlando Shooter Omar Mateen?

Siddique Mir Mateen, the father of Omar Mateen, who killed 50 and wounded 53 in Orlando on Sunday, says he apologizes for his son’s actions, and guarantees he does not know what led his son to inflict such pain.

Mateen said in a video posted on the Washington Post website that he had just seen his son on Saturday morning, hours before the tragic events that unfolded on the early hours of Sunday morning at the Pulse in Orlando. He said he never saw any signs that something could be wrong with him. “He was well-behaved, [his] appearance was perfect,” he said about the last time he saw his son. He also described him as a “well-educated” American-born citizen, who was born to a “very well-to-do” family, and “had a lot of love and care.”

How can a “well-behaved” person who didn’t seem worried or perturbed go on such a deadly rampage? Siddique’s relationship with his son might gives us some clues.

When news started to break and before we even knew the extent of the tragedy, the father told NBC News that “This had nothing to do with religion.” Mateen said that a couple of months ago he was in downtown Miami with his son and grandson, and they saw two men showing affection, which made the gunman very upset: “Look at that. In front of my son, they are doing that,” he recalled. 

Early Monday morning he posted a video on Facebook saying that his son was well-educated and respectful to his parents, and that he was “not aware what motivated him to go into a gay club and kill 50 people.” He said he was saddened by his son’s actions during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and added: “On the topic of hamjensbazi (a derogatory term for ‘gay’), punishment and the things they do, God will give the punishment.”

The magazine The Week explains that the Persian language has two different words for homosexuality:

The LGBT community uses hamjens-garai (literally, “the state of being interested in the same sex”) while the government and state media use the term hamjens-bazi, which has a derogatory connotation as someone who “plays” with people of the same sex. The closest, but not universally agreed upon translation is “faggotry.”

On Sunday, about a dozen of the videos that Siddique Mir Mateen posted to YouTube between 2012 and 2015 were uncovered. He speaks in Dari on them and it appears he is attempting to be funny. The AP reported that a former Afghan officer said that the show was filled with “anti-US tirades.” In one episode, he even professes to hold allegiance to the Taliban.

Sitora Yusify, Omar Mateen’s ex-wife described him as “mentally unstable and mentally ill” and “disturbed,” The Washington Post reported. 

She elaborated even further when speaking to Good Morning America on ABC: He was a “sick person”, a man full of hatred who would regularly beat her.

“He would extend his anger towards a certain culture, homosexuality. There were definitely moments he would show his intolerance towards homosexuals.”

A former co-worker agrees. Daniel Gilroy described Mateen to the L.A. Times as “unhinged and unstable.” He said that he had “complained multiple times that he was dangerous, that he didn’t like blacks, women, lesbians and Jews,” and that he’d always use slurs against them. “You meet bigots,” Gilroy said, “But he was above and beyond. He was always angry, sweating, just angry at the world.”

Still in shock like all of us, but perhaps even more astonished was former friend of Mateen’s named Samuel King.

They were one year apart in high school, and they also worked in the same shopping mall when growing up. When King heard about the news, he posted his disbelief on Facebook: “I can’t believe i knew this dude…. He worked at GNC at the treasure coast mall when i was at Ruby Tuesday’s and he Graduated from the same high school in 2004,” he wrote. “He was a jokester and at the time didn’t have an issue with the LGBT community.” 

King told The Daily Beast that he saw none of that homophobia. Quite the opposite: He said Mateen knew that he and many of his co-workers at Ruby Tuesday were gay, and didn’t seem to have a problem with it.

“That’s the thing that’s pinning me to the wall the most, that it was a gay nightclub,” King said. “Because he would come into the [the restaurant] and laugh with us.” King said Mateen might have even seen a drag show or two.

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The Other Group Mourning The Orlando Massacre: LGBT Muslims

“Initially there is the horror that human lives were taken, and then the horror that queer lives were so dispensable, and then the horror that one of my identities [Islam] might get attacked as a result.”

The post The Other Group Mourning The Orlando Massacre: LGBT Muslims appeared first on ThinkProgress.

thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2016/06/13/3787881/lgbt-muslims-orlando/