On Sunday, June the 12th, A shooting which occurred at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, USA left 49 people dead. 53 people were wounded. This is being labelled the worst mass shooting in US history.

Social media has been filled with stories and versions of the events. This includes rumours of the shooter being “a closet gay.”

One of the hardest things to read was the message sent by a victim hiding in the bathroom, to his mother. A short message telling her what was happening and that he loves her. Another reported the eerie sound of cell phones ringing in the pockets of the dead as they lay behind. Their families and loved ones trying to reach them.

The only “sin” these people, the wounded and murdered committed, was being gay. Choosing to love someone of the same-sex as themselves.

I ask you, is that really reason to kill someone?

To kill anyone?

To hurt anyone?

With bullets or words or anything else?

The answer is so simple. It’s not.

Hurting anyone because of who they choose to love is not okay. It’s tragic. It’s devastating. It is quite simply, heartbreaking and my heart, is broken. My heart is confused. My heart does not understand how this could happen.

The only thing I keep thinking to myself is; if I get one thing right as a parent, it’s to teach my son acceptance.

We need to accept that we aren’t all the same.

We need to accept that other people live lives in different ways. We are as different to them as they are to us. We like different things, we enjoy different places and doing things that others don’t always enjoy. THAT is life. We as human beings are different and that is what makes us great. Some of us, love members of the opposite sex and some of us love members of the same-sex. Neither of these is wrong or right, neither of these is anyone’s business but the people involved with each other.

Killing someone or even judging someone else based on who they choose to love is the problem with this world we live in. Too many people are too busy worrying about what everyone else is doing.

Hating someone for being gay is like hating someone in the line in front of you for ordering a cappuccino when you are about to order a filter coffee. It has NOTHING to do with you. It isn’t about you. It’s about them and their own happiness. We are all entitled to be happy.

Teach your children acceptance.

If you can’t do that, at the very least teach them tolerance. We may not all agree, we may not all do things the same way but as parents, it is our duty to teach our children LOVE and love comes in various forms, shapes and sizes.

Practise acceptance, practice on those around you, on your children, with your family. Just because you believe in something, doesn’t mean everyone has to think the same way you do.

What happened in Orlando is devastating. It is so tragic beyond words. All because one person couldn’t live and let live.