— News and Commentary —

Here Are the Five Dumbest Leftist Reactions to the Orlando Shooting

By  Aaron Bandler
•
   DailyWire.com
•

At 2 a.m. EST on Sunday in Orlando, FL, a gunman identified as Omar Mateen murdered at least 49 people and wounded 53 others at a nightclub. It has been well documented at this point that Mateen was a radical Islamist who pledged allegiance to ISIS and shouted “Allahu Akbar!” while committing his horrific act of evil. Pulse is a gay night club which Mateen was specifically targeting out of bigotry and hatred towards gays stemming from his radicalized views.

This naturally creates a conundrum for leftists who feel the need to politicize any evil act of violence to further their own political ideology. The left portrays themselves as defenders of the supposedly victimized minorities in the country – which includes both gays and Muslims – and demonize the right as being homophobic and Islamophobic. However, as conservatives have been warning for years, Islamic law explicitly calls for the murder of anyone who engages in homosexuality, and Islamic fundamentalist countries and terror groups fanatically implement it. Mateen is no different, as he had a history of racist and homophobic remarks and reportedly mocked his victims as he fired at them.

Here is the dilemma for leftists: how can they call themselves champions of gay rights when they openly demonize anyone who points out the homophobic bigotry rooted in fundamentalist Islamic law?

This dilemma has resulted in the left contorting themselves into delusional positions to ignore the contradictions of their own political correctness. Here are their top five dumbest reactions to the shooting.

1. They blame the shooting on “toxic masculinity.”

This is what has been permeating the radical feminist blogosphere following the shooting. ThinkProgress blogger Tara Culp-Ressler points out that Mateen had constantly abused his now ex-wife YuSify and “bragged about his relationships with other women while he was married.”

“Employing harassment, violence, and coercion against women has long been considered a normal way for men to behave in romantic relationships, as deeply ingrained gender norms teach men that they’re entitled to women’s bodies,” writes Culp-Ressler “This toxic approach to masculinity has been directly linked to the sense of entitlement that drives many mass shooters to commit their crimes.”

Unsurprisingly, nowhere in her lengthy post did she mention Mateen’s Islamism and the fact that he pledged allegiance to ISIS.

Alleged feminist Amanda Marcotte – who once tried and failed to argue that former President Bill Clinton’s sexual escapades are different from Bill Cosby – somewhat acknowledges Mateen’s faith at the leftist rag Salon. Marcotte writes:

For obvious political reasons, conservatives are hustling as fast as they can to make this about “radical Islam,” which is to say they are trying to imply that there’s something inherent to Islam and not Christianity that causes such violence. This, of course, is hoary nonsense, as there is a long and ignoble history of Christian-identified men, caught up in the cult of toxic masculinity, sowing discord and causing violence in our country: The gun-toting militiamen that caused a showdown in Oregon, the self-appointed border patrol called the Minutemen that recently made news again as their founder was convicted of child molestation, men who attack abortion clinics and providers.

The problem with Marcotte’s argument is that “the gun-toting militiamen” in Oregon were occupying a federal building and weren’t looking to kill anyone. There are instances of men attacking abortion clinics, but they are few and far between compared to the rise of Islamic terrorist attacks, and they are universally condemned by conservatives and religious institutions alike, unlike leftists who apologize for radical Islamic terrorism.

Marcotte continues, “Toxic masculinity aspires to toughness but is, in fact, an ideology of living in fear: The fear of ever seeming soft, tender, weak, or somehow less than manly. This insecurity is perhaps the most stalwart defining feature of toxic masculinity.”

In other words, Mateen was simply insecure in his manliness and felt the need to assert dominance by murdering nearly 50 people at a gay nightclub.

Both Marcotte and Culp-Ressler fail to acknowledge that Islamic law calls for homosexuals to be murdered, as well as the fact that Islamic law also treats women as inferior to men and Sharia courts (like ones in the U.K.) allow for men to brutalize their wives. If Marcotte and Culp-Ressler truly believe in the problem of “toxic masculinity,” why aren’t they calling out the Islamists’ brutal treatment of women that Mateen clearly subscribed to?

2. They blame it on Christians and conservative Republicans.

Even though the shooter was a radical Islamic terrorist and a registered Democrat, some people on the left felt the need to lash out Christians and conservative Republicans.

As The Daily Wire reported on Monday, American Civil Liberties Union attorney Eunice Hyon Min Rho attacked Republicans for expressing sympathy for the victims when they sponsored bills that protect religious freedom and re-tweeted an account suggesting that politicians were interested in exploiting the carnage for an “anti-Muslim agenda.”

ACLU attorney Chris Strangio tweeted out the following:

The Washington Times reported on the following comments from prominent LGBT activists:

Lesbian author Victoria Brownworth also weighed in on the issue, responding to a tweet from former Republican governor Mike Huckabee expressing sympathy for the victims of the attack and their families.

“We don’t want your hypocritical prayers,” Ms. Brownworth said. “You led the fight against LGBT people. You promote this every day.”

The National Center for Lesbian Rights also issued a statement in the aftermath of the attack, calling for an end to laws that create a “toxic climate” for LGBT people.

“In the past two years, cowardly and irresponsible politicians have proposed more than 200 anti-LGBT laws — including those passed this year in North Carolina and Mississippi,” said NCLR Executive Director Kate Kendell. “Make no mistake, these laws and the pandering of so many elected officials to those who promote anti-LGBT bias foster a toxic climate.”

Then there’s leftist commentator Sally Kohn, who unhinged a series of deranged tweets filled with illogic that is hard to comprehend:

In the twisted mind of Kohn, businesses owners refusing to bake cakes for gay weddings and preventing men from using women’s bathroom is equivalent to murdering nearly 50 people at a gay nightclub.

As RedState’s Brandon Morse writes, “Rest assured, Christians are as outraged and heartbroken as everyone else is over the deaths of these Orlando innocents. We don’t care that they’re gay, or lesbian, or trans. We don’t pardon murder based on sexual orientation. Many of us have been calling for the cessation of LGBT murder in Islamic countries right alongside the gay community.”

“We may disagree on how things are done. About definitions of marriage, who should be able to walk into what restroom, and if not baking a cake is a civil rights violation,” Morse continues. “These are paltry issues when held against the fact that people are being outright murdered by a radical sect of a religion. Not all religions. Not the Christian religion. Islam. Period. Full stop.”

3. They call for banning white men.

It’s only fair to point out that King was responding to Trump’s calls for a Muslim ban, but it’s a silly point to make when the shooter was not white, and that the tweet is coming from someone who actually is white but pretends to be black man.

4. They blame the gun.

As has become the norm after every mass shooting, the left immediately pounces on the act of violence to call for disarming legal gun owners. Now leftists are berating the AR-15, the firearm Mateen used in the Orlando terror attack.

Here’s what President Barack Obama had to say about it:

Former CNN anchor Piers Morgan couldn’t help himself:

The Muslim Brotherhood mouthpiece Al Jazeera had a headline lambasting the “deadly legacy of the AR-15” since three recent mass shootings involved that “rifle.”

Rep. Alan Grayson (R-FL) told CNN’s Erin Burnett, “If [Matteen] was not able to buy a weapon that shoots off 700 rounds in a minute, a lot of those people would still be alive. That’s exactly right. If somebody like him had nothing worse to deal with than a Glock pistol…he might have killed three or four people and not 50. It’s way too easy to kill people in America today and we have to think long and hard about what to do about that.”

As usual, leftists don’t understand what an AR-15 actually is.

IJ Review’s Joe Perticone explains that an AR-15 is not an assault rifle, since an assault rifle can switch between semi-automatic and automatic settings, while the AR-15 is solely a semi-automatic weapon and therefore, as Loesch tweeted, can only fire as many times as the trigger is pulled. This makes it impossible for the AR-15 to fire “700 rounds in a minute” as Grayson suggests. Perticone’s full breakdown of the AR-15 can be read here.

It’s also worth mentioning that there is no evidence that banning AR-15s would have prevented the shooting, since gun bans don’t work. The Pulse nightclub is a gun-free zone, and there’s no evidence that states that allow for concealed carry in places where alcoholic beverages are served have caused any problems.

5. They blame Congress for not closing the mythical terror watch list loophole.

Kim Kardashian tweeted out the following:

Sen. Richard Blumental (D-CT) issued a statement saying, “The Senate’s inaction on commonsense gun violence prevention makes it complicit in this public health crisis. Prayers and platitudes are insufficient. The American public is beseeching us to act on commonsense, sensible gun violence prevention measures, and we must heed that call.”

He and the Senate Democrats are already promoting new gun control legislation:

There’s just one problem:

There are plenty of problems with the no-fly list in and of itself, but as Malor explains in The Federalist, the no-fly list is not the same thing as the terror watch list. Those on the terror watch list who attempt to purchase a gun can be investigated and blocked by the federal government from purchasing a gun, but typically are allowed to purchase the gun since there’s not enough evidence for the government to deny them the firearm. People on the terror watch list also aren’t banned from flying, they just receive extra scrutiny at the airport. The terror watch list is a secret list and the government can withhold their reasoning for why someone is on it. To simply deny a gun to anyone on the watch list is therefore a denial of due process.

But leftists focusing on this issue are forgetting one key point: Mateen was actually taken off the terror watch list. So even if their gun control legislation was implemented, Mateen still would have acquired the gun legally.

These five reactions are nothing more than distractions from the real issue at hand: radical Islamic terrorism.

Create a free account to join the conversation!

Already have an account?

Log in

Got a tip worth investigating?

Your information could be the missing piece to an important story. Submit your tip today and make a difference.

Submit Tip
The Daily Wire   >  Read   >  Here Are the Five Dumbest Leftist Reactions to the Orlando Shooting
AboutAdvertise With UsAuthorsBook our SpeakersCareersContact Support
LegalMedia & Press InquiriesShipping & ReturnsStandards & PoliciesSubmit a News Tip
Daily Wire Plus
Facts and headlines on the go.
Download the Daily Wire app.
Download on the App StoreGet it on Google Play
Download App QR CodeScan the QR Code to Download
FacebookXInstagramYouTubeRSS
Daily Wire PlusFacts and headlines on the go.
Download the Daily Wire app.
Download on the App StoreGet it on Google Play
© Copyright 2025, The Daily Wire LLC  | Terms | Privacy
Podcast compliance badge