Orlando at the Center of America's Fault Lines

In addition to guns, Americans remain divided over core issues pertaining to gender and sexuality, a crucial point in light of the fact that the Orlando victims were targeted for being queer. What impact did religious condemnations of homosexuality have on Omar Mateen’s own loathing of gay people? Why was he so disgusted by the sight of men kissing? We do not yet know the sources of this hatred, and there is much we may never know. But surely the nation’s long history of homophobia, reinforced by many Christian and other religious leaders both within and beyond the U.S., was a factor that must be faced. More, insofar as religiously inspired homophobia remains alive and well, religious leaders have a duty not merely to face it but to actively work toward eradicating it. As the Christian author and LGBT activist Matthew Vines wrote after Orlando, “For the nearly 50% of LGBT Americans who are Christians, as I am, it only compounded the pain to have our faith leaders either ignore the massacre, qualify their condolences in ways they never would for other victims, or simply omit the fact that LGBT people were targeted for death because of who they are.”