The senselessness of blaming Islam for the LGBT shooting in Orlando

Omar Mateen, a US citizen of Afghan heritage, shot 50 people in a gay nightclub in Florida before he was killed by police in the early hours of Sunday.

Sadly, people everywhere are now bracing themselves for what has become the usual barrage of hatred directed at Muslims following attacks such as this.

Islamophobic sentiment is currently engulfing social media - but Chase Strangio, a lawyer who works with the American Civil Liberties Union on LGBT and Aids related issues, took to his Twitter account to point out a sad truth about gay rights and religion in America.

Mateen, who has been described by both his father and his ex-wife as 'not very religious', did pledge allegiance to Isis before committing a horrific crime.

But religiously motivated legislation from the right-wing Christian lobby has been trying to stifle gay civil liberties as long as there has been a gay rights movement:

A lone gunman happened to be Muslim - but that does not mean an entire religion is to blame.

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