The furore over the mass shooting at a gay nightclub in the US has become even more intense after the gunman’s father said his son was motivated not by his religion but by homophobia. His statement, however, may have made to obfuscate the Islamist motive behind the terror attack, since the shooter, Omar Mateen had pledged allegiance to ISIS before pulling the trigger. Either way, the massacre is an extreme manifestation of hatred and homophobia.

Central to the issue, of course, is the gay community and the homphobia they continue to face. Just the sight of two men kissing had incensed Mateen, said his father. While this attack is an extreme, it must push society to introspect on how the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (LGBT) community continues to face hatred in smaller, but still significant, ways on a daily basis.