The Tony Awards were held last night, or as many called them, they were the HamilTonys! Cultural phenomenon Hamilton had scored 16 nominations (a record) and ended up winning 11 Tony Awards. More on that in a moment. There were some concerns about allowing the Tonys to go ahead following the largest mass shooting in American history this weekend in Orlando. Some people thought the Tonys should be postponed. I don’t think that was ever really an option as far as scheduling went though, so host James Corden made a simple and moving statement during the cold open of the awards show:
Elegant. And when you think about it, the Orlando attack was an attack on LGBTQ people, so many of whom find a home in theater. I think the Tony Awards did the best they could do. Many of the attendees wore ribbons to honor the Orlando victims, and many paid tribute to the victims during the speeches. Here’s Lin-Manuel performing a sonnet during a win. Love is love is love is love.
Very moving speech from @Lin_Manuel last night. Congratulations on the awards. #loveislove https://t.co/GZj9krpOfY
— Jacob Phillips (@jacobtrumpet) June 13, 2016
As for the awards, all four musical acting awards went to actors of color, which is a first in the history of the Tony Awards. While Lin-Manuel Miranda won Tonys for Best Musical, Best Book and more, he didn’t win Best Actor in a musical! That award went to his costar and friend Leslie Odom, Jr. Here’s the Tony performance from Hamilton:
God, they’re amazing. You can see the full list of Tony Award winners here.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
I love Lin-Manuel so much!
I’m so proud of Leslie! His work as Aaron Burr is outstanding and he deserved the recognition so much.
Same! Although I’ll admit, I was really surprised he won over Lin, I figured Lin was a shoo-in to win for playing Hamilton. But they were both so good……
Actually I think Odom was the favorite going into the show so i expected him to win. Either way Ham4Tonys was a success and they racked up the wins.
Lin’s speech was one of the few moments where I found myself openly crying last night. He has a gift with words for sure
I was really happy they gave it to Leslie because he has the hardest job in making the audience sympathize with the guy who shot Alexander Hamilton. Wait for It and The Room where it Happens are just iconic performances.
I am sure Lin as fine with this too… And he has so many other Tony’s for the show anyway.
@Alex, really? For some reason I figured Lin would be the favorite, so his win surprised me – not that Leslie was undeserving, he was amazing, amazing, amazing in this. But I didn’t really read much about who the favorites were, so I probably would have been less surprised if I had 🙂
I’ve seen Hamilton twice and “The Room Where it Happens” got the longest applause both times. LMM is insanely, amazingly talented — all his hype is true — and he seems humble and nice and everything good in the world. But he wrote the best songs for Burr, and Burr was the most compelling part. Hamilton was all genius, genius, genius and talk, talk, talk and Burr was this silently imploding character who was always trailing a guy who was light-years ahead. A lot more is known about Hamilton than Burr, but LMM created a Burr that was so layered and sympathetic and relatable. And that is to his credit. He wrote three of his actors to Tony’s! Leslie took it and ran with it, and did the character justice. The first time I saw it was with my sister who had NO IDEA that Hamilton was “a thing.” She knew he was on the $10 bill and died in a duel. But she left raving about Leslie/Burr. He leaves an impression. Also, he’s freaking gorgeous. That doesn’t hurt.
Actually, Tony voters have a history of splitting the baby, so to speak, when it comes to Lin-Manuel. He was nominated for Best Actor for IN THE HEIGHTS. Didn’t win because he was for sure getting the Book and Score categories.
Wonderful words from Lin – Manuel Miranda.
I thought the Tony’s were wonderful last night. Even my 14 year old said “Thank God it was the theatre community having awards tonight to honor Orlando and not the Grammys or Oscars. Nothing trashy or disrespectful.” This – from a 14 year old boy.
Awesome kid!
–TheRealPinky
Smart kid you got there.
I think this was one of the best Tony Awards shows in a LONG time. Corden’s opening speech was perfect and seemed heartfelt, and the opening number was great. The show was well-paced. Miranda’s sonnet and Frank Langella’s speech got me teary as well. Kudos to all.
Very astute kid!!!
I am trying not to hate gun owners right now. I know it’s not their fault that this happened. But if they would just stop blocking gun control legislation, like the bill for a two week waiting period that was recently proposed and rejected, maybe fewer things like this would happen. God forbid you should have to wait two sort weeks to get your hands on a gun. That would be so inconvenient for you. Happy now?
Extremists don’t care about about waiting periods. They want to kill, and they will find a way. A waiting period is not a deterrent to someone set on murder.
Assault weapons need to be banned period. End of.
I love you, but How could you possibly know that? He obtained his guns legally. He is bipolar, according to his wife. Had it been necessary for him to wait for two weeks, he may have slipped and said something that made the people around him taken notice and get him help or go to the police, he may have cooled off, he may have been hit by a bus. If it saves ONE life, if it stops ONE person from doing something like this, where is the harm? Why not try? But no, people can’t wait two bloody weeks.
Did you see me say otherwise? I personally believe in background checks, waiting periods, and bans on assault rifles. It annoys me, however, when people argue that if ONLY there were tougher gun laws stuff like this wouldn’t happen. That’s bullshit. People who want to kill will find a way.
Did you see me say that? I said MAYBE FEWER things like this would happen. What other options do we have besides gun control? Giving up seems to be your answer and just let them kill.
Jeez. I wasn’t attacking you in the slightest, was just adding to the convo.
I realize this is an incredibly sensitive subject, but it seems like everyone on this site is so touchy these days.
Waiting periods are a good start and an added opportunity to catch a red flag…of which this guy had several. Or you know you could ban assault weapons like the AR-15 and give your people a fighting chance?
Hahahahahaha! Sorry, that’s crazy talk I know. God forbid you make any positive and common sense changes to amendments written by your all-white, all-male, mostly racist, often slave owning, founding fathers! Yep…clearly those guys know what’s good for 2016! 🙄
@TG, I’m not sure who you are addressing, but I was talking to Goats, not you. I agree with you.
@GoodNames I know and thank you. My reply showed up out of place because it was being screened. 🙂
@GoatsonTheRoof, yes, they will find a way but the ways in which they can take out dozens of people at a time are somewhat limited to well, bombs and guns. And you don’t have to make the gun, just buy it.
He got his assault weapons within the last few days. If high-capacity magazines assault weapons were banned, this massacre in this wide scope of 50 dead so far and 53 injured would not have occurred, most likely, at least in this magnitude. He obviously decided to do this on the spur of the moment buying the weapons only days before legally.
Sadly, there are people that want to kill others. We shouldn’t make it easier for them to kill more people, more quickly, from further away, with more lethal force. That is what assault weapons are designed to do.
@Goats: considering that the bulk of mass shootings occur with guns that are purchased LEGALLY, I think it’s very reasonable to suggest that doing a better job to close loopholes would save lives, including more waiting time.
As an Australuan I disagree. Strict gun controls work.
The federal ban that was once on assault-type weapons with high-capacity magazines needs to be reinstated. There is no need for any regular citizen to own weapons with high-capacity magazines, which is what this guy legally bought and what he used to take out so many people quickly. No one is trying to take away guns for protection or rifles for hunting. But no citizen needs an assault weapon for protection that can fire off 30, 50 to 100 rounds, etc. In the 2012 Aurora shooting, he had a weapon that could shoot 100 rounds, added with other weapons. If it hadn’t jammed, he would have taken out the entire movie audience in a few minutes. As it was, it was still horrible, in that 12 were killed and 70 injured,
Yet the GOP fights such common sense gun control
Exactly. Wtf does a citizen need an assault rifle for except to kill people?
This.This. This. There is no reason to own an assault weapon unless you want to kill a large amount of people in a short period of time. I find it terrifying that this type of weapon can be purchased.
We need a ban on those assault weapons, high capacity magazines, and also the type of ammo this murderer used. One of the witnesses said the bullets were huge; he held up his fingers at least three inches apart. One bullet could and did tear a man’s arm off. There is no scenario where a private citizen needs military type weapons. I’m sick to death of the NRA “defending” the right to these killing machines. I don’t mind responsible gun owners but idiots who amass personal armories are frightening.
THIS SO MUCH.
My family owns a gun. Everyone in our house knows how to load, clean, safely store and shoot it. There is NO reason for anyone to be able to buy an AR-15 with high capacity magazines. Most of the mass shootings in recent memories were used with that gun. People in Pulse said the guy unloaded bullets and everyone was dropping. This could’ve happened regardless but instead of 50 dead and 53 wounded it would’ve been much less with a different gun. Just ridiculous
I agree with all of you. Why does somebody need an uzi? Politicians must stop being scared of the nra and other gun lobbyists and do what’s sensible.
YES!
And the GOP should stop blocking legislation that puts gun purchasing restrictions on people who are on the no-fly list.
As a Texas gun owner I’m all for the illegalization of assault rifles, banning gun shows, extending the waiting period, and increased pricing of ammunition.
Furthermore, as a member of the LGBT community, NOTHING about this makes me happy 😒
Thank you for this.
I wish more gun owners had this level of sensibility, instead of defaulting to “they’re taking our guns away!” phobia that the NRA and GOP thrive on.
I’m a licensed gun owner and I’m ready to toss them all.
How many more times is this going to happen before we wake up?
Your statement fills me with cautious hope. God, I hope this shakes this nation awake, finally. We cannot allow another event like this to transpire. I cannot be permitted. (And we do permit it by allowing permits and guns sales to anyone, no restrictions, no questions asked.)
We are all complicit in this tragedy for not forcing our Congress to stop this nonsense. Anyone who voted against that last legislation needs to be kicked out of Congress. No ifs, and, or buts.
–TheRealPinky
@Kitten:
I think the majority of gun owners are sensible and understand the need for common sense restrictions. For crying out loud, Scalia made clear gun ownership was not an unrestricted right. Think back to the aftermath of Sandy Hook, public opinion was overwhelmingly in favor of increased background checks. And by overwhelming I mean over 80%. It is, unfortunately, a very vocal, mobilized minority fueled through the best lobbying outfit in the history of the nation, the NRA, that controls our government officials on this issue.
Kate-You’re right and I apologize if I was being unfair. I’m not a gun owner, I don’t get guns at all, so admittedly I probably default to the “othering” of gun people as a defense mechanism.
Anyway, I wish the vocal minority would shut up and let the responsible gun owners have the proverbial public floor.
I’m glad to hear that, The Other Maria. Yesterday an old classmate of mine went on a FB rant saying that of course we’re blaming the guns and that she would never use her AR-15 on innocent civilians. She seems to be under the misguided impression that she needs this weapon to defend herself on the day the gov’t comes to take her arsenal. I was already seeing red all day yesterday, after reading this my head almost exploded. THIS is the mindset we are up against.
@Esmom at least she stopped at AR-15. A guy running for Congress in NC thinks private citizen and militias are entitled to nuclear weapons so the citizens can be prepared to fight government overreach. He came in 2nd in the Republican primaries.
I’m trying not to hate gun owners right now either but anyone I encounter who spouts NRA rhetoric at me within the next week is going way down in my estimation as a decent human. The NRA – supporting the constitutional rights of previously law-abiding, mentally-ill extremists to mass-murder since 1871.
I shouldn’t put all gun owners under the same heading. I really mean NRA gun owners.
The gun lobby is a pretty amazing entity. (Amazing isn’t the right word, but I’m dumb today.) Anyway, with the advent of video games in the &0’s, rifle sales dropped, so the gun industry started really pushing for high powered rifle sales. Like actively targeting the audience that was “playing” war games. It’s f-cking sick. Fanning the flames here, but Hillary has NRA money in her pockets too, not to mention she helped destabilize Libya which is directly related to the rise of ISIS, so….yeah. There are very few elected (or presumptive for that matter) officials who take gun violence seriously.
GNAT, it’s not only a waiting period that’s needed, it’s also a cross-checking list that goes between government agencies, so if someone has been flagged by FBI, police, etc., something blocks this person from being able to obtain a gun! My God, this guy was pulled in TWICE by the FBI, had connections to terrorists, made inflammatory remarks to co-workers, had become increasingly volatile, and yet, could just go out and buy a freakin’ ASSAULT RIFLE! He was a security guard which even made it easier!
The sad thing is, even if the measures are put in place (waiting times etc.), criminals will always get guns illegally. It feels like a Catch-22 situation.
Yes, criminals will always find a way, usually by stealing weapons off non-criminals, as they do now. But stricter regulation will reduce the high numbers of these deadly mass shootings by previously “law-abiding citizens” whom the NRA tells us are entitled to assault weapons on demand. Most of these horrific public killings are done by people with no prior criminal record.
I really don’t understand why some people find it so hard to believe that strict gun laws work. Just compare the homicide rates of for instance European countries with the US homicide rate. One of the main differences? Gun control!
Only developing countries have worse rates than the US.
My heart goes out the victims of radical religion of piece. As a lesbian I’m fearful. I previously voted for Hillary in the primaries but will be voting for Trump in the presidential elections. Enough is enough.
Anybody who thinks this is a gun control issue and not radical Islam issue is part of the problem
Because a man who promotes hate will be the one to stop the extremists? Ok, please have all the seats.
There have been many LGBT people murdered by Christians.There have being many mass shootings committed by Christians.This man was able to shoot over 100 people because he had access to an AR-15.So go ahead and support NRA endorsed Donald Trump so even more hateful people can commit mass shootings.Mass Shootings like Newtown,Aurora,etc none were committed by radical extremist.As for Trump I won’t be surprised if LGBT aren’t his next target,since he needs support from Religious Right to win election.
i honestly cannot believe what I just read. Speechless….
Uh, me neither.
Um, wow. don’t even know how to react to that. So confused
I am literally sitting here with my eyes the size of plates!!!! I cannot even…
@With Tears – I don’t want you to feel attacked but what you’re saying doesn’t make any sense. You really think Trump will make things better? Just look at his recent tweets regarding this tragedy…they’re abhorrent.
It’s both. Actually, it’s three. A homophobic hate crime also. He legally owned a high-capacity magazine assault weapon, or more, which should be banned,. And he was an extremist.
This. There are many layers to this tragedy and we ignore them at our own peril. Dangerous ideas must be confronted and challenged.
The guy who committed this hate crime was a born and bred American. he was just another angry American man with a gun determined to kill people. Thousands of Americans are killed by their fellow citizens just like this every single year. The only thing that can stop it is gun control, but no politician will ever have the courage to stand up to the gun lobby, sadly.
Trump isn’t going to keep you safe – he’s nothing but a bigot who wants power by playing on people’s fears. The only thing that will keep you safe is gun control, but that is the one thing that will never, ever, ever happen in the United States, unfortunately. And every year thousands of innocent people will continue to be shot dead by angry Americans with guns.
+1
Yesterday morning, a non-Muslim from Indiana’s plan to attack a Pride parade in California with bombs and assault weapons was stopped by the police. Non-Muslim. There have been over 170 mass-shootings in the US since January 1. A mass-shooting is defined as four people shot. Over 500 people have died in these 170 mass shootings since January 1, 2016. All of these are in the US. The vast majority of these shooters are not Muslim. This IS a gun problem.
THANK YOU.
+1
Lilacflowers, a few weeks ago an ex military man went on a shooting spree in Houston. He was allegedly a fervent, ultra conservative Trump supporter, who met likeminded people online. The man was originally from California but went to Texas to meet with like minded individuals. Did the national news pick up the story? In passing, perhaps. When I asked my California friends if they’d heard about the incident they had no idea what I was talking about. I read the comment sections on the local news sites and guess what? Nobody called this incident what it was, terrorism. Was it because the man wasn’t Muslim? Was it because he was ex military and couldn’t possibly be a terrorist? SMH.
Per this link:
“He railed against homosexuals and Jews during the rampage, before he was killed by police.
Dionisio Garza III, 25, also recently expressed anti-Muslim sentiments on Twitter, and repeatedly criticized House Speaker Paul Ryan and the GOP establishment. ”
http://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/johnwright/gunman_in_houston_shooting_rampage_was_trump_supporter_railed_against_homosexuals
@Sparkles, happens all the time. Yet another reason I don’t follow mainstream media.
Not only that but they’re not immigrants. This guy was born in New York. Homegrown terrorism, guys–it’s a thing.
While we’re spending our resources and time focusing on ISIS and wars in the middle east, we’re providing a perfect distraction for homegrown terrorists to organize and carry out massacres on US soil.
@Sparkles, frighteningly, so many Americans cannot conceive that the word “terrorist” could describe anyone who isn’t Muslim. Yet Timothy McVeigh, Terry Nichols, Michael Fortier, Eric Rudolph, Ted Kasinksy are all terrorists and all non-Muslim.
Meanwhile, I know several Muslim parents who will be keeping their children home from school today for safety purposes. Attacks on innocent Muslim kids increase after every such incident.
I am so thankful to the law enforcement officials who stopped this plot yesterday morning. So many more lives would have been lost.
http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2016/06/12/man-arrested-california-had-guns-explosives/qD7tD8oB8yKdM561XPNQbK/story.html?event=event25
Thank you lilac.
Very much agreed. Homophobia cannot be fought with Islamophobia.
We have an openly gay MP in Toronto, and this is what he said about the shooting:
“While I heard the news and the numbers of those fatalities kept growing in the morning, my body reacted and I had two impulses,” he said.
The first he said was to reach out to his gay and lesbian friends and seek solidarity with those who have experienced homophobia.
“But my second response was to reach out to my Muslim brothers and sisters to say hate can never be met with hate; hate has to be met with love… We know better than anyone else that it is by love that we are saved.”
And he posted to twitter a picture of him celebrating with his constituency, the largest Muslim population in Canada.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/orlando-shooting-muslim-gay-toronto-mp-rob-oliphant-1.3632244
It makes me proud to be Canadian.
I appreciate this is an emotional time but what on earth will voting for Trump do to improve the situation? How would he have stopped a US born US citizen from carrying out this horrific lone wolf attack on a soft target? He has never had to deal with terrorism, unlike Obama and Hillary who grapple with the reality instead of sending out nasty soundbites from a penthouse. Demagogues always promise a simple, violent solution that appeals to people’s visceral – and understandable – wish for retribution. But there isn’t a simple solution. It’s complex and difficult. Trump has already proven he doesn’t do complex and difficult. He will not improve the situation. May all the victims rest in peace, and deepest sympathy to their relatives in what must be a truly terrible time.
ANNETOMMY- I couldn’t have said it better.
Don’t fall for the trolling.
–TheRealPinky
Maybe withtears is a troll pinky but it’s still worth pointing out how illogical the stance is. Unfortunately I feel she may not be alone in her reaction, whether it’s real or otherwise.
@With Tears
Oh brother. You are so transparent, it’s pathetic. Donald Trump is part of the reason people feel so free to express their stupidity and hatred so freely these days. Oh yeah, he’s the answer all right. You do know that he makes NO distinction between Muslims? To him, a Muslim is a Muslims – kick them all out and ban them from coming in. Of course, the guy in Orlando was born in the U.S., so I’m not sure how you and the Donald are going fix that one. I know! You will give more guns to the weak and the uninformed. Great idea.
What I find hysterical is that a subset of people have no problem attacking Freedom of Religion but are up “in arms” if we even discuss the 2nd Amendment. They want to ban entire groups of people but can’t even conceive banning guns.
Right. They are perfectly happy to take away my control of my own body, too, but guns? Nooooo. Sacred.
With Tears- Are you aware that the gunman was born in New York? Are you aware of the GOP’s homophobia? Do you really believe that they care about the LGBT community? May I ask what, exactly, you expect Trump to do that will magically end extremism? If anything, Trump’s rhetoric feeds right into ISIS’ and extremists mindsets and garners them more supporters. You don’t approach and fight psychos with psychos.
Trump will be used as an ISIS recruitment tool.
If you marginalise people, constantly telling them they’re less than, that they’re not truly american, they will grow up feeling resentful and like outsiders, and in most cases they make perfect victims for radicalisation. Trump divides and urges people to HATE, increasing marginalisation, playing right into the hands of associations like ISIS, which depend on angry and marginalised individuals to carry on their dirty work.
Trump would be the worst thing to happen to the US’ home safety. Domestic terrorism is a fact.
Wait…with tears… Please tell me that you are being ironic? I am so shocked, saddened and scared that there are humans who respond like this.
Christians and Muslims alike have mental health issues, go berserk, have radical beliefs and do harm to others…
This is a gun control issue plain and simple.
Excuse me while I go make myself a stiff vodka 😔
Make that two, please.
Three please
Ah the Monday Morning Troll, a rare breed.
Lol I know, I hate myself for falling for it.
🎵 A troll is a troll of course, of course, because they sound like an ass of course…🎵
Exactly!!!
–TheRealPinky
Oh please. You did not, for a single second, vote for Hillary in the primaries. Your post is completely transparent.
And how do you think Trump is going to solve it? You know the shooter was born and bred in the US, right? Trump’s magic wall wouldn’t have done a thing to prevent this.
If you’re actually a lesbian and you think that Trump and the GOP will do anything to protect you than I’m just sorry for you more than anything else. There’s nothing to say.
I’d recommend that for everyone else-please check out the amazing HBO documentary ‘Homegrown’. It features interviews with former FBI and CIA agents in the fight against all types of domestic terror and it’s a great watch. The people involved also did a great interview on Slate back in Feb as well and talked about the nuance between the cult culture of wanting to attack people and the lone wolf mentally ill person grasping onto that cult ideal.
http://www.slate.com/articles/podcasts/gist/2016/02/homegrown_hbo_documentary_on_domestic_terrorism_and_new_hampshire_primaries.html
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016/02/06/documentary-explores-what-drove-fort-hood-shooter-to-extremism.html
Here we have a great reminder to all of us how people like Trump get into power – fear and ignorance channeled into minority hatred in order to deflect from the reality of larger and more difficult social issues.
Does it matter “why”?
The REAL problem is that anyone who has enough hate can obtain a weapon to kill many people, quickly, from far away.
Whether it is a religious extremist, a bitter ex husband, a high school kid with mental issues, an anti-abortion man targeting Planned Parenthood, a college kid with women issues, the thing they ALL have in common is that it is very easy for them to obtain a firearm.
Yes. I don’t understand the quibbling over whether this was religious extremism or a hate crime. The political posturing is gross. The bottom line is that we have too many guns, which are way too easy to obtain, here in the US. It’s utterly insane. And yet, with every incident that’s occurred since Sandy Hook, I can barely feel outrage anymore, I’m just numb.
Love is the greatest of all. Fear, anxiety and most of all HATE should have no place in this day of age in the 21st century. Lin-Manuel Miranda did a fantastic speech and I am so proud of him and the cast of Hamilton. Love conquerors everything and I agree with James Corden who did a fantastic job last night, that Hate never wins. TONY AWARD WAS THE BEST ENTERTAINMENT AWARD SHOW this year.
Someone should tell that to DONALD TRUMP
Lin-Manuel Miranda is a genius. Love him so much. Actually I love every single Hamilton actor!
The world doesn’t deserve Lin Manuel Miranda.
I think the Tony’s responded exactly the way you should to terrorism – by refusing to let it drastically alter the way we live and honoring those affected.
I’m okay with Odom winning over Miranda. I think most of us expected it, considering many people who have seen it say Burr’s character is the darkhorse of the play. Miranda won for best score and musical – which is almost a bigger compliment since HE WROTE THE ENTIRE THING HIMSELF MY GOD MAN.
He was also awarded the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for Hamilton, something that has been given to musicals only 5 or 6 times before. I had no idea when I saw him on House that he was this talented. He’s a great actor, I didn’t know about the rest of it. I would live to see this but sadly I am on the wrong side of the continent.
I kind of wish Lin-Manuel had won. Leslie is amazing, absolutely amazing, but he also gives the kind of performance the Tony’s and the theatrical community in general have been rewarding for about 30 years now. Lin isn’t the typical current Broadway singer or performer, but there’s an incredible energy and rawness to his performance that’s been absent in the big productions for way too long, and I’m really hoping Broadway will start re-embracing that.
I saw the show once with Lin, and once with his understudy Javier Munoz. Javier is technically the better singer and performer, but it was all a bit too perfect and diluted.
The guy is gifted. He also wrote In the Heights which was another gem of a show. Just genius. Hip hop and history? Who would’ve thought?
LMM’s sonnet was……absolutely fantastic. Hype is believed.
How did that girl who was passing out the awards last night not break down and cry every time someone gave an emotional speech? I guess trying not to fall on teetering high heels can make you focus on other stuff.
This should be a celebration of the Tonys and Hamilton – which hopefully will go on tour someday so I can see it… However I can’t help but wonder when are my American neighbours and friends going to say “enough is enough”. Each time a horrible, senseless tragedy like this happens and people die, the blame is shifted to mental illness, political and religious fervour, radicalization, etc. etc.
You know what?? People can suffer from all these and if they couldn’t get their hands on a (or as is most likely, many) firearms they wouldn’t be able to go in and kill 50 people. Or schoolchildren and teachers. I know the argument, they would use something else. Not buying it. The destruction you can wreak with a revolver or assault weapon cannot compare to what you can do with a knife, bat, rock or whatever. I know this because growing up in a communist country where only police during work hours could carry guns, I can promise you we had zero deaths from firearms. Zero. Did we still have violence and crime? Of course, but look at the numbers happening in the US right now and tell me that this makes sense. As ridiculous as it sounds, I am actually postponing, once again, a trip down south this summer. Because I don’t want to take the risk of being at a marathon, in a cinema, in a mall, or at a museum, and getting shot because someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed after two weeks of buying perfectly legal weapons on FB groups.
Nope nope nope. I love you, Vauvert, but nope.
Myself and many other American citizens don’t deserve the blame for this. We said “enough is enough” almost twenty years ago after Columbine.
You should know that there’s a grassroots movement trying to fight the NRA, but y’all REALLY need to understand how powerful this organization is. The NRA has been paying off politicians for years and years to gain the level of power they have in gun lobbying legislation. And the politicians that fundamentally agree with organizations like the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence are too scared to vote against the NRA. They fear the NRA will run ads against them, mobilize the pro-gun voters to sink their campaign or hold gun rallies in their district.
Do you understand how frustrating that is as an American?
That being said, make no mistake: there HAS been improvement. The gun violence prevention (GVP) movement has made substantial progress in the past few years. For starters, Sandy Hook led to the creation of a new national organization mobilizing activists on the ground in 50 states: Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America and older organizations like States United to Prevent Gun Violence in America added state organizations and new volunteers as well. Organizing for America, Americans United for Change, and the amazingly effective new gun violence prevention team at the Center for American Progress have all gotten into the GVP game in a serious way, when in prior years it was mostly talk and no walk.
We’ve turned the gun violence concern into one that is a single-issue voting. Presidential candidates and other politicians who are running for re-election are zeroing in on it and paying attention.
It’s a very complex issue here in the United States, but I think it’s not fair at all to ask Americans if we’ve had enough. The majority of us are sick at what is happening here with gun violence. But please don’t overlook the fact that progress is being made. This is NOT an issue that will resolve itself overnight. It took a long-ass time to create such a violent gun culture and it will take as long, if not longer, to try to change things.
I agree with everything that Kitten said, except I do think it’s helpful for our friends in other countries to be very vocal with their WTFs. It’s true that many, if not most of us, have been fed up for a long time. But there is the very powerful NRA and the unfortunate fact that our Supreme Court favors gun owners in their interpretation of our Constitution and the right to bear arms. As Kitten said, it’s a very complicated situation and the answer is not as simple as take away the guns. I wish it was that simple. But maybe if the rest of the world continues to question us and refuse to come here it will help. I don’t know, but I’ll try most anything.
+1 Kitten
@GoodNames iansa.org is a global group working to end gun violence. Good resource for info if you’re interested.
But from the outside looking in, it’s easy to distill a highly complex issue down to “those Americans are all obsessed with guns” and thereby overlook everything that caused this issue and everything that’s happening on the ground-level in terms of trying to combat gun violence. I think that gets easily lost in the anger and resentment that people feel. But it’s important to acknowledge the Americans who are devoting their time, energy, and resources towards stopping gun violence.
Most of us are appalled at the level of gun violence in the United States, most of us want to see change, and many of us are actively working towards changing things.
But I agree that we cannot continue on like this. This is not normal and of course, globally-speaking we are an anomaly. I agree with you GNAT that we should all take note of this.
I hosted a MDA event last fall and sent a tentative note out to a wide circle. I was surprised not only by how many people wanted to come, but by how many people had been searching for a way to get involved. It gave me faith that these grassroots organizations can slowly mobilize what looks like apathy but is really quite the opposite.
YES Birdix–that’s great to hear and thank you for sharing that.
We want to change things, we’re not all complacent, and we know our country deserves better.
‘No Way To Prevent This,’ Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens
(Onion headline, 2014)
While that headline is generally used as a slam against anti gun-control types, it also applies to the “it’s a complicated situation here” argument.
There are NRA (or similar) groups everywhere. You have to be louder than them, and get the politicians to realise this is an issue that will get them voted out of office if they don’t pay attention to the public. Unfortunately, pro-gun Americans are louder than anti-gun Americans. Statistically a majority of Americans are in favour of gun-control, sure. But you’re not loud enough. It’s as simple as that. (That’s a general “you”. Obviously not you guys specifically, you’re making your voices heard.) I read a fair bit of US media (thanks internetz!), and while there is some anti-gun rhetoric, it’s maybe a fifth of what I’d expect from Aussie media.
Also, vauvert bought up a really good point about blame-shifting that I think we should talk about. The first reaction in the American media is almost always speculation about the individual. Were they crazy? Was there a religious motivation? Was it a hate crime? Here in Oz we tend to blame the system. What went wrong here? How did the authorities screw things up so that this could happen? It’s a more socialistic response. We expect the authorities to prevent this stuff from happening. (We certainly don’t expect to have to own a gun and protect ourselves!) Since America is the most ruggedly individualistic country on the planet, I think that makes the general media slant seem odd to non-Americans. (24 hour news cycle doesn’t help. The random stupidest things get reported as if they are important. It makes it difficult for the rest of us to figure out what Americans really think is important.) It’s not that we think you’re apathetic or complacent, it’s just that you’re not having the same conversation or the same tone that you’d expect elsewhere.
@Lucrezia-With all due respect, your view of America as an outsider fails (like most non-American’s view) to consider the vast diversity in America and the effect those differences have on arriving at a unifying opinion about such a politicized issue as gun control.
Firstly, you also have to consider that each state has its own gun laws that are a combination of state and federal regulations.
For instance, my state (Massachusetts) has some of the strictest gun laws in the nation and also has the third-lowest rate of gun-related deaths in the country.
But just because my state has a strict view of guns doesn’t mean that say, Montana does. In fact, Montana gun control laws are some of the most permissive in the country. A Montana resident does not need a registration, license, or permit to purchase or possess firearms. As a Massachusetts resident, I’m powerless to impact the laws of another state. Montana residents have to want it for themselves, and they don’t. Clearly, they don’t.
Sorry but this isn’t an issue of not being loud enough. It’s an issue of a 320 million people living in a country that is vastly divided politically and culturally from region to region.
I feel like a broken record but I get SO exhausted when commenters from outside the US claim to know how to solve our country’s problems when they have no real understanding of the underlying political complexities in a country as large and as divided as ours is.
Unless you’re living it, you just don’t get it.
I can yell from the tree tops that we should dismantle the NRA, change the laws so that everything from state-to-state is uniform but when we have lobbyists, politicians and citizens in other states who very much subscribe to a different view for our country, my hands are tied. The cultural differences between a state like Montana and a state like Massachusetts is what creates that vast discrepancy in approach to gun laws.
Politically-speaking and in terms of law-making my vision of America isn’t seen as more valuable or more worthwhile or better than those who stand on the opposite side of the fence, you know? Myself and other like-minded individuals don’t have the ability to dictate or override what happens on a state-level in states outside of our own.
I hope my comment didn’t come across as disrespectful because I do enjoy the debate and I do appreciate the feedback. Unlike some people in the US, I actually care about how other countries view us and I think we could progress so much if we made it a point to learn from you guys. But in order to learn, we have to listen and too many in this country don’t want to listen or change or grow.
Sadly, until we can get everyone in this country on the same page, dismantling the NRA is and always will be, a pipe dream. Lastly, if it was as simple as most non-Americans think it is, we’d have figured it out by now, trust me. People like to say that our country has a gun problem but I think it’s more accurate to say that we have a human problem.
I’m enjoying the debate too Kitten 🙂
But I’m not explaining my point well, since it still seems like you’re not getting what I’m trying to say. Blaming diversity (states rights, complications etc) seems like a cop-out, because America has managed to change other laws that have been controversial. You ended slavery, you’ve made progress on health care, (the health insurance mandate), marijuana went from a federal crime to legal in a bunch of states, you’ve legalised gay marriage (an area where you’re waaay in front of Oz). But it’s too complicated to enforce background checks and a 28 day waiting period on people who want to buy a gun? You can take on the slave-trade, the insurance companies, prohibitionists and a whole bunch of conservative religions … and win! But NRA is too powerful?
See what I’m saying? From the outside, it looks like gun-control is totally within your reach. When we criticise, the unspoken context is that we’re holding you to a higher standard, because you’ve normally got your sh*t together. No-one says “WTF are you doing Swaziland? Get your guns under control!” because we understand they have issues that are beyond their capabilities. So I guess the criticism is kind of a backwards compliment. You’re going to have trouble convincing people that this is too hard when you’ve achieved so much.
And we generalise and give American/Americans credit for the good stuff I listed above, so I don’t feel too guilty for generalizing when I’m being critical. But I do recognise that it annoys the heck out of you, and I don’t want to offend if I can avoid it. So is there a way you’d prefer us to speak? Your complaint is basically “don’t generalise, some Americans are pro gun-control.” My response is basically, “yeah of course they are. But I’m talking about America in general, so I’m … generalising.” What’s the solution? I’m not sure how to even have this conversation if we can’t generalise. From my point of view, it doesn’t matter what one person or even 200 million people think – it’s a national issue or a society/culture issue, not a individual issue. Putting a #notallAmericans caveat on every generalisation seems silly (especially since I have issues with brevity at the best of times). But I’m not sure what else would make you happy.
Please take a look at this video from over a week ago, in which Obama addressed the GOP’s inexplicable reluctance to sensible, reasonable gun control, then get back to me.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSEoVkl0W30&
–TheRealPinky
I’m going to miss watching President Obama speak. Sigh.
I know he wasn’t the perfect president but I cannot imagine any other president in my lifetime being able to move me the way he does.
I live in Orlando. My brother is gay and when he lived here I would go out with him and we would sometimes end up at Pulse. The city is so sad right now – about this and Christina – but we’re pulling together. It is kind of an odd feeling to have your city be the epicenter of national news and to be the recipient of so many good wishes/prayers/calls for solidarity.
As a musical theater nerd I live for the Tonys and the tributes to Orlando yesterday, especially Lin’s sonnet, made me cry. Loved the ceremony loved the performances and it was nice to take a few hours to relax to not forget, but not feel so consumed.
Hugs. Orlando Strong.
Ditto. Was sad to see on Twitter yesterday so many LGBTQ people feeling like they only had their own to count on for support. Hugs to you, your bro and your community right now. ❤️💙💛💜💚
I’m from Tampa but I lived in Orlando for two years and have so many great friends and former colleagues there. I just wanted to say how much your I-4 neighbors are thinking of you and grieving along with you. Huge hugs!
Same Tampa grown here and I’ve been to Orlando and Pulse many a times. I have so many friends that go to Pulse regularly (gay and straight) so this hit hard for us. Waiting for friends to activate their safety check this weekend was anxiety inducing for sure.
Christina’s death was so shocking. I first saw her on the voice and wanted her to win. It is also sad that one evil person can take the lives of 50 people just due to hate. I hope that all their families can find peace and comfort during this horrible time
UGh Im so In my feelings today, I don’t think i wanna play anything cause im sorta tired of crying about this sh!t idk why cause at this point in time i should be used to it and I tend to pride myself in not making stuff about me that isn’t about me so as to not detract from real victims but this last shooting broke something in me…. People celebrating themselves in one of their only safe spaces ffs..
But nothing is gonna change, we let kids die for nothing already
Things gotta change tho, otherwise what’s left to move for? Don’t give up. You’re pretty and have purple hair. That makes you a unicorn and we desperately need more of those right now.
@TG, I love your comment! Yes, QQ, you are a gorgeous unicorn! Spread your magic and help intelligence and love win!
+100000
bAHHHH you guyses stoooppp being all sweet *kisses* is just the impotence I’m feeling ATM and the ugliness of the whole thing that has me bowled over ya know?? seeing the survivors and my LGBT people in my tls pretty much asking: Where can we be safe?, why are we hated for just being?… that just makes my heart hurt so bad
This was an absolutely horrifying event. No wonder people are still concerned about coming out. It will change though. It has to change. If we keep being loud and keep acting and supporting the groups that fight against hate, it will change. It’s exhausting but every time you support these causes, every time you say something to counter the horrible narrative, someone could be helped. You may touch someone, give them another point of view when they desperately need it.
You have such a strong voice, and such compassion, please don’t give up! I’m sure you’ve helped people you don’t even know, just by voicing LGBT support on a celebrity message board. People will think, the awesomely funny lady with the sweet-ass purple hair says so, it must be true.
“Love is love is love is love.”
Everybody who watched their performance noticed. But it is worth noting that the cast of Hamilton decided not to use the muskets in their performance in respect to the Orlando victims. “Love is love is love is love”
That’s awesome.
Thought James Corden was great. Sooooo much prefer him over NPH, whose smugness drives me bananas. Corden is just a fanboy, not a guy he thinks he is the be all and end all. When the camera panned to NPH, he liked slightly ill with jealousy. Good.
Neil had a funny look on his face when they panned to him right as the opening number ended. I was wondering what he was thinking. To be fair, the theme (supporting kids / this could be you) was done by Neil the year before (or one more before that) so he could have been thinking about that. Or maybe it was nothing. I doubt he’s jealous.
I felt guilty last night skipping the local vigil to watch the Tony Awards. But the awards were just what I needed after spending all day watching coverage of the Orlando tragedy. James Corden was fantastic, and I was so, so happy for all the Hamilton awards. Seeing the show in April has been the highlight of my year and I’m sure I’ll still feel that way in December. It’s such an amazing piece of art.
Lin-Manuel is great, I loved his sonnet and that Hamilton won so many awards. They are a truly deserving group of individuals.
This guy is amazing! He’s an incredibly talented person and also seems like a genuinely good person.
I`m sorry if someone said the same. It`s not only an attack against the LGBTQ community – it`s an attack against the free world. Because the I$ does not want the west to live together in all our colours and religion, with all the free dom we have. And when Trump wins it`s good for the becaus they want to have us hating and devided.
They don`t want a free western world with mixing races an mixing genders.
And it`s true – not weapon kill people, people kill people. But these people, who want to kill, they kill so much faster and more people if they have weapons like this.
I’m so sad right now about Orlando. But I think it’d be nice if we wait at least 24 hours before we start arguing about guns and terrorism. And it doesn’t happen. People start yelling at each other immediately. And it just overshadows the victims. The Tonys played it right…love not politics.
I love your posts, but I disagree. For one thing, it HAS been over 24 hours. For another – How many more senseless deaths do we have to witness before this sinks in? It’s impossible for me to seperate the two. This isn’t about “politics” for me. It IS about love – and respect – for my country and for human life. I believe the universe, or God or life or whatever you believe in, will send you a lesson. If you don’t get it, it will send you another, stronger message. HOW MANY TIMES DOES THIS HAVE TO HAPPEN?? It breaks my heart and enrages me. Don’t tell me it’s about politics for me because it’s not. It’s about common sense and decency.
Yeah somebody took me to task when Debra Messing got into hot water with her selfie about gun violence…I called her tacky and that she should have waited. The poster said if she had waited for the right time, she would have never been able to post the pic. And they were totally right.
I think it’s important to honor the victims and survivors, but we need to deal with this NOW. Being tactful or even PC obviously isn’t working.
Yes I agree with GNAT and TG.
Sure, ideally we would avoid politicizing a tragedy out of respect to the victims and their families but that is simply a luxury that this country cannot afford.
To clarify, I was not saying that our discussion was inappropriate. We have waited and I think it’s okay now.
I’m just sad that mere hours after this tragedy, its being turned into Facebook memes, and being used for campaign rhetoric. If it was my loved one lost, I’d be furious. Especially since this politicizing just polarizes the issues, preventing anything from getting done.
It has been 17 years since Columbine; is it still too soon? I have had more than enough. I want this to end. I am tired of leaving in fear. I am tired that others have to live in fear. I am tired of the political rhetoric of inaction. I am angry. And Congress will hear my wrath. Today.
@lilacflowers- I did active shooter training for my job (I teach at a campus in CA) and we had to watch 10-15 minutes of footage from Columbine. Actual camera footage of the shootings. I could not sleep for several days.
I am not disagreeing that enough is enough. It is. And yes, we need to talk about it now. But I felt inundated with ridiculous noise yesterday, none of it useful for constructive change.
I suppose what I’m wishing, more than people waiting to talk, is wishing that people would choose their words more carefully. And make more logical arguments. But I suppose that’s wishful thinking.
I’m so happy to see the many rational and logical responses here. The mass shooting is an attack on LGBT but it is also an issue of gun control and mental illness which unfortunately has been conveniently cloaked as Muslim terrorism to avoid the dialogue on gun control. My Muslim friends condemn this senseless killing. I am horrified that some conservative Christians are applauding but my consolation is the Christians I know would not, even if they are against LGBT. In Singapore (which still has a long way to go in terms of LGBT support), police are already investigating a local who has proudly mentioned on FB he would open fire on LGBT people also. Please US, you can have the rights to own guns but in the meantime please ban assault weapons for normal citizens…
I just want to extend light, love and hugs to anyone reading and or commenting who has lost or knows someone who lost a loved one in Orlando.
Fifty something people dead. People with families, hopes, dreams – potential. Their lives snuffed out because of the the warped ideology and actions of one disturbed individual.
It makes me mad as hell and breaks my heart that this keeps happening. I stand with those who say there needs to be a ban on assault rifles, longer waiting periods and no sale of guns allowed at gun shows. This kind of tragedy should not be the norm.
Gun show sales are not the problem if they follow applicable rules and regulations. The problem was that some states did not require the same level of background checks at gun shows that they did in other places. So if you were rejected from buying in a store, you could head to a show and just buy there, no check required. But there is no good reason to ban gun show purchases if they adhere to applicable rules and regulations. Statements like that just give credence to people who think it really is about overreach and excess.
As for waiting periods – what’s the evidence that they help? Waiting periods only work if the person’s mind can actually change in the interim. Do you really believe that a terrorist is going to be deterred by waiting a little bit of time? Again, I know it’s an emotional topic, but we still need to be able to think rationally about this stuff. I simply can’t see how extended waiting periods would deter those who already have an intent to kill.
It isn’t meant as a deterrent for terrorists. Half the gun deaths in the US are suicides. It is meant for them and “heat of the moment killers.” Easy access to a gun ups your odds of suicide exponentially. A two week hold can help stop that.
Here in Oz, we have a 28 day waiting period on a “permit to acquire” a firearm to allow police to do a proper background check. That includes the obvious criminal background check, but also:
– making sure you have a license for that type of firearm
– that the reason for having a license is still valid (self-defense is not a legal reason to own a gun here, you have to be a farmer or sports shooter or something like that)
– making sure that particular firearm is legal (not a rocket launcher or something ridiculous)
– that you don’t have too many guns of a particular type (for example, only 1 pump-action shotgun allowed unless you’re a member of the Clay Shooting Association)
It wouldn’t stop a long-term planner, but it would stop someone with a mental illness stocking up on extra weapons to use in a spree. But mostly it’s about suicide (as Lindsay said) and domestic violence. Down here you (temporarily) lose your guns if you get a restraining order placed against you. So the permit to acquire stops them immediately buying a brand new gun and shooting the ex.
A two week waiting period in Florida would mean that every single person murdered in Pulse Saturday night would not have been murdered in Pulse Saturday night.
I’m disappointed this blog didn’t write an article on or give mention to Christina Grimmie’s murder. She was an immensely talented rising star.