Adding his voice to a growing number of Latin artists expressing indignation toward the heinous mass shooting committed in Orlando, Florida, early Sunday morning — which left 50 people dead at Pulse, a gay nightclub that was hosting Latin music night — Mexican singer Christian Chávez told Billboard exclusively that he considers this to be the biggest hate crime ever toward the LGBT community.
In a statement, Chávez — who came out as gay back in 2007 and whose song “Libertad” has become an anthem for the LGBT community — reflects on the massacre, which he admits “is even hard to write about.”
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“The Orlando massacre on Sunday, in the heart of a community that celebrates their first pride festival, is not only the deadliest mass shooting in the history of the United States, but also the biggest massacre against the LGBT community in the country.
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“The 49 victims and the 53 wounded in the city of Orlando, Florida, will forever be remembered, just like the Stonewall riots, during the ’60s, will never be forgotten. Almost 50 years later, this happens. It is so frustrating, sad and poignant that it is even hard to write about it, but we are in world that needs to be informed and has no empathy for one another. This creates great falls in society. More than 20 percent of the hate crimes in the United States are motivated because of the sexual orientation of the victim, according to statistics from the FBI. Mexico is the second country in the world with the most hate crimes. And it’s not about religion or terrorism; it’s about respecting everyone’s rights, the same right we should have for every human being. Like Benito Juárez said: ‘El respeto al derecho ajeno es la paz’ (the respect of the rights of others is peace).”
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The ex-RBD member reacted to the news with a heartfelt message on Twitter he posted just hours after the tragedy: “Rarely does a man tolerate what he doesn’t understand, therefore he destroys it.”
Pocas veces el hombre tolera lo que no entiende, así que lo destruye…#FloridaNightclub — — #lovewillprevail pic.twitter.com/8R8JvQJAtn
— Christian Chavez (@christiancha) June 12, 2016
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