SM,

Fair enough.

It appears, however, to be more of a gay hate crime.

No doubt, Trump will take full advantage of this tragedy seeing as his party assisted this cretin to get hold of an automatic weapon - he's already tweeted on it.

Oh yeah the gun laws, nothing to do with Islam. The pigheaded denial and ignorance shows why the West is stuffed. The 'rationalist' are exactly the opposite. A two year old can reason better.

Poirot,

"The gunman who killed 50 people at a gay nightclub in Florida, called police during the massacre to talk about the Islamic State terrorist group."

It might seem trite, but ISIS is not a big supporter of gay rights. I also think trying to dismiss this as just a gay hate thing is not going to fool anyone.

It doesn't help either that the shooter was a registered democrat, or that an Imam at an Orlando mosque was advocating death to homosexuals.

If Trump did not use this for advantage I would be surprised. I wonder what Clinton's reaction will be?

Just a few clarifications.
The Imam who gave a sermon on homosexuality in Orlando this past week was a Shia cleric, the gunman was Sunni and had nothing to do with that particular Mosque.
The gunman reportedly prayed in the evenings at a mosque under the spiritual guidance of a well respected Imam who is known for his public stand against violence and intolerance.
The idea that this is a crime motivated by hatred of homosexuals comes only from the gunman's father, who seems to be a political extremist in his own right, his statements appear self serving and must be taken with a grain of salt. Other people who'd known Mateer said he had no particular problem with homosexuals, that in recent times he'd had an openly Gay friend and happily socialised with that person and other homosexuals.

"Make the personal political" is the founding principle of what we commonly identify as the "Left", such only people see events events as the Orlando outrage through that filter and utilise projection and imagination to make sense of what to them are confusing scenarios.
Nationalists hold the opposite view, "Everything is political, nothing is personal", Islamic terrorism operates on the same conviction, violent jihad is about a greater set of ideals and a greater reward for martyrdom in the name of global Islam, personal feelings don't enter into it at all.

Poirot, "The question you should be asking is how it's possible for any nutter - religious or not - to get hold an AR-17 in a supposedly civilised society"

Would you rather he used a bomb, the flammables for which are far easier to obtain and certain to allow a huge number of indiscriminate killings and maimings, with an easy escape prior for the bomber and massive difficulties in identifying the terrorist/s responsible?

The society is civilised but he isn't. Islam is the difference and the problem. It isn't enough for its so-called 'moderates' to come out later to say that fundamentalism isn't encouraged by Islam where that clearly is the fact and reality.

What you are also NOT saying is that the extremism of gay pride and queer political activism is riling Muslims, whose beliefs are irrevocably opposed to the homosexuality that other creeds usually tolerate, but would object themselves where queer activism infringes what they wee as their religious and civil rights. For example, for both men and women to be equal and enjoy the local swimming pool at the same time. Or to be able to change or deny beliefs without being threatened with death.

None of that is to excuse this violent SOB. But pretending that it is the weapon, 'the gun dunnit', which incidentally is probably not 'automatic' as you are quick to speculate, is deliberate deception to conceal, which are the obvious cracks in the US's multicultural society. It is scary to acknowledge that smart-A Australia is not immune from such fundamentalism.

However, it does show the ineffectiveness, the weaknesses, of 'gun control'. Because a determined offender will always find some way of committing an offence. To make it simpler for you, it is part of the modus operandi of criminals to lie and break laws.

Murder has always been unlawful and doubling or tripling laws as politicians do to be popular with media talking heads is ineffective, BS.

Obama failed to deal with the social problems he talks up when he is scoring other political points.

".. but would object themselves where queer activism infringes what they SEE as their religious and civil rights."