‘It’s Sacred’: A Gay Refuge, Turned Into a War Zone; New York Times, 6/13/16

Michael Barbaro, New York Times; ‘It’s Sacred’: A Gay Refuge, Turned Into a War Zone:

"To fully grasp the unique horror of what happened inside Pulse — a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla., that became the site of the worst mass shooting in America — you have to understand the outsize role that gay bars play in the history, lives and imagination of gay people.

They are refuges and havens, places where, the moment you cross the threshold, there is an unspoken understanding: You will feel accepted and safe.

In Orlando, that concept was perverted and upended in the most brutal way imaginable. The safe harbor became a bloody death chamber.

It was a gay bar that had liberated me and so many of my peers, once we finally summoned the courage to stick around and take a seat, putting us on a long path toward self-acceptance."