The Orlando Attack and the Fragmentation of America

By now you are probably aware of the terrorist attack at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida. If not, the basic facts are these:

• The shooter was Omar Mateen of Port St. Lucie, Florida.
• The shooting occurred at a gay night club called the Pulse, which was a gun free zone.
• At least 50 people are dead with another 53 hospitalized. 
• He purportedly used an "assault-type" rifle (purportedly an AR 15) and handgun. It is possible that he also had explosive devices.
• Mateen is the child of Afghan immigrants.
• Prior to the attack, he called 911 and pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (i.e., ISIS) (See also this video report from CBS News) and praised the Boston bombing attack.
• Mateen was investigated by the FBI in 2013 and 2014 for possible ties to terrorism because he had previously made terror threats.
• He was a registered Democrat.
• The shooting began at approximately 2:00 am local time, and ended at about 5:00 am when SWAT entered the building, killing the terrorist in a gun fight. So 3 hours to kill his hostages.
• Mateen had a firearm license and received a security officer license in both 2011 and 2013; he has no prior criminal background.

Weasel Zippers is a good source for updates.

We are already seeing liberals gloss over the terrorist and Muslim connections, spinning it as merely a hate-crime against the LGBT community, and calling for more gun control. Of course, this means that there will be a surge of people scrambling to buy firearms (particularly AR 15s), magazines, and ammunition in anticipation of efforts to further restrict the right to bear arms. Ignored will be the fact that Muslim terrorists in other countries routinely kill similar numbers of people under legal regimes banning firearms and explosives, and lost will be the truism that "where there is a will, there is a way." We will probably hear little of how this incident is yet a further example that law enforcement won't--can't--protect you from these types of attacks.

While one would hope that this incident might cause to the LGBT community to reassess their blind support of unfettered immigration and defense of Islam, it won't. Most of the LGBT community are liberals, and to liberals, hatred of the West has progressed beyond trendiness to being a core aspect of their personality. To recognize the threat posed by the adherents of Mohammad would be denying a part of their soul.

But this attack will be used to push two agendas: (1) gun control; and (2) further censure of anyone holding or expressing a belief that homosexuality is immoral. It will also dominate the news cycle for days and weeks to come, taking attention from the FBI investigation of Hillary Clinton. And, in fact, so effective will this incident be for these purposes that one could be forgiven for wondering if it was a false-flag attack.

However, the result will not be a national change of direction, but a further hardening of battle lines. It is obvious that gun control would not have prevented this attack. The killer had necessarily passed background checks in order to obtain his firearms license and license to work as a security officer. And, even if the restrictions had worked, he merely would have turned to the black market (just as the shooters in Paris or countless gang bangers in the United States) or used explosives. But that won't stop the arguments since the purpose of liberal "propaganda [is] not to persuade or convince, not to inform, but to humiliate; and therefore, the less it correspond[s] to reality the better." But many Americans are no longer buying into the lie; instead, they seek to reset the system. A reset that will require the preservation of rights, not an abandonment.

This is not to say that further efforts to regulate guns or marginalize those with religious beliefs that reject the LGBT lifestyle will not succeed. We very well may see legislation or "executive action" to regulate firearms, restrict magazine capacity, or ammunition. And, certainly, this incident will be used to shame anyone that is opposed to gay marriage or trannies in women's restrooms. But successful or not, there will be growing resentment. Gun owners will be resentful of the continued assault on their Second Amendment and natural rights to bear arms. Liberals and other weak minded individuals will be resentful of anyone that rejects "commonsense" gun control. Similarly, social conservatives will be resentful of their being furthered labelled as hateful or intolerant; and social liberals will be resentful that not everyone bends to their will.

And so, rather than seeing the unity that followed 9/11, this incident will result in the widening of the divides within the American body politic.