Three years ago, a vile jihadist terrorist shot up Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla., murdering 49 innocents, nearly all gay men.

For the past three years, our media betters have continued to disrespect their memories. Not many admit it was an act of terrorism, and even fewer admit that it was radical Islamism that fueled the monster's raging homophobia.

Or if you're a Democrat, you sideline the homophobia and put gun control center stage.

49 deaths.



53 wounded.



Countless lives forever changed.



Three years after the Pulse shooting, it's long past time to act to end the epidemic of gun violence in America. #PrideMonth — Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) June 12, 2019

When 49 people were murdered at Pulse three years ago, it was an attack on our LGBTQ+ and Latinx communities. Today I’m remembering the victims and their loved ones, and I promise to #HonorThemWithAction by continuing to fight for #GunReformNow. pic.twitter.com/bxrCRLx6bp — Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) June 12, 2019

My most painful moments during the @BarackObama administration were spent with families of victims of our gun violence epidemic. Let’s all support this effort. ⁦@onePULSEorg⁩

#WeWillNotLetHateWin

https://t.co/5htBNME5az — Valerie Jarrett (@ValerieJarrett) June 12, 2019

The Pulse massacre wasn't a failure of gun control. The terrorist had no criminal record, passed required psychological exams and background checks, and obtained both his firearms license and security officer license for his job.

The Pulse massacre wasn't your bargain barrel case of homophobia. The shooter had a pointed hatred of gay people, sure, but he explained his motive to 911 operators after he shot up Pulse: "Yo, the airstrike that killed Abu [Waheeb] a few weeks ago – that’s what triggered it. They should have not bombed and killed Abu [Waheeb]." The shooter was a home-grown terrorist, plain and simple. That he chose Waheeb, a more esoteric member of ISIS as compared to the likes of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi or other bosses, just demonstrates how invested he was in radical Islam.

Homophobia is one evil that the nation must eradicate. Domestic terrorism influenced by global jihad is another.

The FBI later found that the shooter had scoped out a number of locations in Florida, including Disney World. Choosing a club made for and celebrating gay men was just a twist of the knife for the shooter. As it turns out, radical jihadists aren't too keen on the gay community. But the media instead spent the first year after the shooting running with the bogus notion that the shooter suffered from some sort of internalized homophobia and then the gun control one when FBI debunked the notion that he was secretly gay.

To ignore the specific strain of hate that motivated the attack and deny calling it what it was (terrorism) is to whitewash the tragedy that befell the 49 victims slain that night at Pulse. They deserve better.