The horrific mass shooting in Florida, the shooting of Christina Grimmie, and my opinion on gun control

Pulse nightclub in Orlando, the scene of the worst mass shooting in US history, leaving 49 people dead

The news that came from Orlando, Florida on Sunday morning was nothing short of heartbreaking, horrifying, and sickening. 49 innocent lives lost while they were just trying to have a good time. A gunman, Omar Mateen, went into a gay nightclub, Pulse, and proceeded to injure 102 people, with 49 being fatal. I have put the names of every victim at the bottom of this blog. It's just come out in the news that a bouncer at the nightclub, Imran Yousuf, was in fact an ex-Marine, and thanks to his quick thinking - he recognised the sound of a high caliber weapon, so realising everybody was in danger, he got as many people out the door as possible - he was responsible for saving the lives of around 70 people. Anybody who knows me will know that I am a huge supporter of LGBT rights, and last year I even took to my often unused blog because I felt the news that same-sex marriage had been made legal in the US was a very big deal. So I'm incredibly upset by this attack on the LGBT community, and I will stand with them, just like millions of people are also doing around the world. #LoveIsLove #LoveWins

Top picture: the Eiffel Tower lit up in the colours of the LGBT pride flag. Middle pic: loads of people gather outside the Dr. Phillips Center in Orlando to pay their respects. Bottom pic: the LGBT flag colours on the Sydney Harbour Bridge

This shooting comes ridiculously soon after the tragic shooting of the incredibly talented Christina Grimmie, a 22-year-old singer/songwriter who had an exciting life ahead of her. Christina made many people happy with what she did. After a show of hers in Orlando, she had the decency to meet her fans, a moment that the fans would never forget; unfortunately, they would never forget this moment for all the wrong reasons. Christina got shot by a gunman - who we now know to be Kevin James Loibl, but we don't know his motive - prompting her brother, Marcus Grimmie, to confront the shooter, who then pulls the gun on himself. Who knows how many people may have been killed if not for the heroic actions of Christina's brother?! Whilst both of these shootings are truly saddening stories to hear, they unfortunately aren't hugely rare. Now is not the time to recap all the major shootings of years gone by, but at what point do we say "enough is enough"? Surely things need to change?

Christina Grimmie, shot dead at the age of 22, whilst meeting fans after a show of hers in Orlando

Back in 1996, Dunblane in Scotland had one of the worst mass shootings that Great Britain has ever seen. A man walked into a primary school with 743(!!!) cartridges of ammunition and 4 guns - which were legal in GB at the time - and he took the lives of 16 young children and 1 of their teachers. Because of this, the GB government acted to ban guns from being privately owned. Ever since, you don't really hear about shootings in GB, because, quite simply, people aren't allowed to privately own guns in the first place; and acquiring one in GB would require some REAL effort! If you stop people from owning guns, or at least make it MUCH harder to acquire them, you seriously reduce shootings - period.

In Japan, where it's nigh on impossible to own a gun, there are virtually no gun deaths. In Australia, after they brought in gun control laws after a mass shooting in Tasmania in 1996, they haven't had a single mass shooting since. Whereas, in just a 72-hour period prior to the 14th of June, 2016, 93 people were killed because of shootings in the US, with a further 205 injured; and this staggeringly doesn't include the Orlando nightclub shooting!

That's all just my opinion, I felt I had to get it out.

R.I.P. to all the beautiful people who lost their lives in Orlando, as well as the wonderful Christina Grimmie. 💚🎤 It's incredibly disheartening and distressing what happened in both of these situations, and I hope we one day don't hear about these types of stories anymore. 🙏🚫🔫🚫 My thoughts are currently with the families and friends of those who were mercifully killed. So many precious lives unfortunately taken, but we will always remember them. 💙🌈

The 49 victims of the Orlando nightclub shooting:

Stanley Almodovar III, 23 years old

Amanda Alvear, 25 years old

Oscar A Aracena-Montero, 26 years old

Rodolfo Ayala-Ayala, 33 years old

Antonio Davon Brown, 29 years old

Darryl Roman Burt II, 29 years old

Angel L. Candelario-Padro, 28 years old

Juan Chevez-Martinez, 25 years old

Luis Daniel Conde, 39 years old

Cory James Connell, 21 years old

Tevin Eugene Crosby, 25 years old

Deonka Deidra Drayton, 32 years old

Simon Adrian Carrillo Fernandez, 31 years old

Leroy Valentin Fernandez, 25 years old

Mercedez Marisol Flores, 26 years old

Peter O. Gonzalez-Cruz, 22 years old

Juan Ramon Guerrero, 22 years old

Paul Terrell Henry, 41 years old

Frank Hernandez, 27 years old

Miguel Angel Honorato, 30 years old

Javier Jorge-Reyes, 40 years old

Jason Benjamin Josaphat, 19 years old

Eddie Jamoldroy Justice, 30 years old

Anthony Luis Laureanodisla, 25 years old

Christopher Andrew Leinonen, 32 years old

Alejandro Barrios Martinez, 21 years old

Brenda Lee Marquez McCool, 49 years old

Gilberto Ramon Silva Menendez, 25 years old

Kimberly Morris, 37 years old

Akyra Monet Murray, 18 years old

Luis Omar Ocasio-Capo, 20 years old

Geraldo A. Ortiz-Jimenez, 25 years old

Eric Ivan Ortiz-Rivera, 36 years old

Joel Rayon Paniagua, 32 years old

Jean Carlos Mendez Perez, 35 years old

Enrique L. Rios, Jr., 25 years old

Jean C. Nives Rodriguez, 27 years old

Xavier Emmanuel Serrano Rosado, 35 years old

Christopher Joseph Sanfeliz, 24 years old

Yilmary Rodriguez Solivan, 24 years old

Edward Sotomayor Jr., 34 years old

Shane Evan Tomlinson, 33 years old

Martin Benitez Torres, 33 years old

Jonathan Antonio Camuy Vega, 24 years old

Juan P. Rivera Velazquez, 37 years old

Luis S. Vielma, 22 years old

Franky Jimmy Dejesus Velazquez, 50 years old

Luis Daniel Wilson-Leon, 37 years old

Jerald Arthur Wright, 31 years old