Fresh on the heels of the murders in Orlando, Los Angeles police have arrested a heavily armed white male who was reportedly planning to attend LA Pride and "harm" the event. Besides guns and ammunition, the suspect possessed materials that could be used to make pipe bombs. As already noted, why the f*ck are people allowed to purchase and own assault rifles? Oh, I forgot - because the GOP had prostituted itself to the NRA and gun manufacturers. As for the licence to express hatred against the LGBT community - and by extension, to commit acts of violence, look no farther than the pulpit of your nearest Baptist or Catholic church and, of course, Republican politicians like Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick, Mike Huckabee and a host of other anti-LGBT hate merchants. Here are highlights from the Los Angeles Times:
Authorities on Sunday were trying to determine the intentions of an Indiana man with a cache of weapons, ammunition and explosive-making materials in his car and apparent plans to attend the L.A. Pride festival in West Hollywood.
Santa Monica Police Chief Jacqueline Seabrooks said on Twitter that the 20-year-old man told one of her officers after he was arrested that he wanted “to harm Gay Pride event.” But she did not provide any details, and officials said they are still trying to sort out his motives.
Seabrooks identified him as James Howell of Indiana. A Facebook page for someone with the same name in Indiana shows a young man posing next to a white Acura similar to the one found in Santa Monica with the weapons and explosives.
At a news conference Sunday afternoon, police stressed they were still trying to figure out what Howell planned to do with the weapons.
Federal and local law enforcement decided against canceling the annual parade, which went forward Sunday morning under tightened security. Investigators are now trying to piece together what happened but said they don’t believe there is any connection between the incident and the massacre at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla., that killed at least 50 people overnight.
“Gun violence on the LGBTQ family during Pride Month makes me sick,” Horvath said. “The deadliest mass shooting in America happened to LGBTQ people on Latin night. While we mourn this heartbreaking loss, we must also rededicate ourselves to the fight for full equality for all people. No one is equal unless everyone is equal.”
The next time you hear a fundamentalist preacher or Iman bellowing about gays and those who no longer embrace ignorance and hate, think of Orlando and what this rhetoric leads to. These individuals and their religions deserve zero deference and need to be considered threats to the peace and lives of others.
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