ACLU blames Christians for Orlando gay nightclub shooting

The lawyers of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) are saying that Christians are to be blamed for the tragic Orlando shooting, in which a gunman opened fire at a gay nightclub and killed 49 people.

Chase Strangio, one of the attorneys at ACLU, said that Islam should not be blamed for the massacre, which was instead driven by the many "anti-LGBT bills" that the "Christian Right" have passed recently.

"The Christian Right has introduced 200 anti-LGBT bills in the last six months, and people are blaming Islam for this. No," Mr. Strangio said in a tweet.

Strangio also addressed Christians who offered their prayers for the Orlando shooting victims and their families, saying their "thoughts and prayers and Islamophobia" were responsible for the development of an "anti-queer climate."

Eunice Rho, a member of ACLU, lambasted Republican legislators for offering their prayers for those affected by the massacre, saying they were proponents of the "extreme, anti-LGBT First Amendment Defense Act," Catholic News Agency reported.

Author Victoria Brownworth, a known lesbian, criticized Mike Huckabee's tweet, saying it was hypocritical. She said Huckabee promotes anti-LGBT principles every day.

Christian evangelical leaders said not approving same-sex marriage does not equate to disrespecting human life.

Matthew Franck, director of the Withespoon Institute's William E. and Carol G. Simon Center on Religion and the Constitution, told Catholic News Agency that Christians who hold traditional views about marriage do not necessarily hate those who don't.

"Christians who have resisted the redefinition of marriage, and who now want to be free to live what their faith teaches them is the truth about marriage, do not hate anyone, and legislation to protect their freedom is not 'anti-LGBT' except in the minds of the intolerant enforcers of coerced conformity," he said.

Franck added that the "worst response" to the massacre is to use it to validate a political stand and "demonize one's political opponents," which the ACLU members have done.

Ryan T. Anderson of the Heritage Foundation said supporting marriage between a man and a woman is not being anti-LGBT, and neither is approving male-female bathrooms.

Orlando massacre shooter Omar Mateen was said to be an ISIS sympathizer. According to reports, he pledged allegiance to the terror group through a 911 call before committing the mass murder.