Tampa, FL – About 20 student activists from Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) came together, June 24, to speak out against the Orlando shooting, homophobia and Islamophobia. The protest occurred on the campus of University of South Florida.

The group of students made clear that this attack was not because of mental illness or ‘Islamic extremism’ but rather homophobia and patriarchy perpetuated by the ruling class. The group of students also called out USF’s administration and their blatant homophobia for refusing to change the name of the C.W. Bill Young Building on campus.

The building is named after C.W. Bill Young a republican congressman. Bill Young was a member of the Johns Committee, a committee prominent during the 1960s which directly targeted and discriminated against suspected queer people, civil rights leaders and communists.

SDS member Brett Behers spoke on the media’s role in the Orlando shooting. “Coverage by the mainstream media has been doing a lot more harm than good. The LGBT community, being victimized, and made to feel fear; and the Muslim community, being demonized, and made to be feared.”

Sam Beutler, an SDS member, connected Tampa Bay SDS’s campaign with fight against systemic homophobia and patriarchy: “When SDS demands administration #ChangeTheName of the homophobic CW Bill Young building, we strike a blow to the foundations of homophobia at the root of the Orlando shooting.”

Tampa Bay SDS will continue to fight against homophobia, Islamophobia, and USF’s administration in the upcoming semester.

#TampaFL #StudentsForADemocraticSociety #Islamophobia #Orlando #homophobia

New York, NY – On June 12, at 6 p.m., over 600 people gathered at the steps of the historic Stonewall Inn to mourn the lives lost in the Orlando Massacre that happened earlier that day.

In the early hours of June 12, Omar Mateen entered the popular LGBTQ Orlando nightclub, Pulse, and opened fire. The club was hosting a Latin night that featured a trans-woman headline. Mateen killed 49 people and injured 53 before being shot by the cops. While the bourgeois media assumed that his motives were linked to Islam, reports from Mateen’s family state that he was never religious. Closer investigation revealed that Mateen worked for G4S, a security systems company that provides surveillance equipment to Israeli prisons. Pictures of Mateen wearing NYPD shirts also surfaced and made the rounds on social media. It seems likely that his motives were closely related to homophobia rather than religious belief.

The vigil was organized by a local New York group Queer Nation-NY and several other community organizers. The topic of the speeches ranged from expressing sentiments of remorse, sadness and love, to calls to action and revolution.

Ava Lipatti, from Students for a Democratic Society, gave a powerful speech, in which halfway through broke out in a round of chants denouncing the racist police, who during this peaceful vigil wore riot gear. Lipatti said, “What we have to remember today is that the system that prompted the shooter to carry out this tragedy is the same system that perpetuates genocide in the Middle East. And, it has been found out that the shooter was not a practicing Muslim, but in fact was a fan of the NYPD. We cannot let this tragedy be a pretext for more war and genocide. What we need now more than ever is solidarity between the queer community and the Muslim community.”

As the sun set over Christopher Street, the attendees had heavy hearts but were galvanized to keep fighting for justice.

#NewYorkNY #ChicanoLatino #Stonewall #Orlando #OmarMateen