The nightclub shooting in Orlando was a tragic hate crime. This act of terror is inexcusable, and such radical beliefs should never be tolerated.
Not surprisingly, social media and news sites are filled with the typical propaganda - half blaming the shooter's religion, and half blaming the firearm the shooter was using.
The fact of the matter is, only one person is to blame, and that is the shooter himself. Not his religion, not his "scary looking firearm", not anyone present at the night club. However, the fact of the matter is, this tragedy may have been significantly reduced, if not completely prevented, had the nightclub not been a gun-free zone.
Conceal carry inside of clubs and bars is strictly forbidden in Florida, unless you are a licensed security guard, like the shooter.
What? You mean the shooter could carry a firearm in the nightclub, but no-one else could?
And it took three hours for police to finally enter the building and end the situation?
How could it have gone differently? How could have lives been saved?
The answer is simple. End gun-free zones, and allow more law abiding citizens to conceal-carry.
Our country is now plagued with people who demand their "safe space", some relatively new idea that you should have somewhere you can go and be perfectly safe from physical or emotional harm.
But without law abiding citizens conceal carrying to protect themselves and others, the safe space isn't as safe as people thought.
The LGBT community must, without a doubt, arm themselves. Orlando shows that the police cannot protect you. In fact, police are not required to protect you at all, only to enforce the law.
We must end the victim culture. Everyone, LGBT or not, must learn to protect themselves.
Ken Buckler is the editor of the Liberty Chronicle Independent.