Matty McLean Shares His Feelings After Orlando Shooting: 'I Choose Love Over Fear'

In the wake of the horrific mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando this week, former One News reporter Matty McLean shared with spy.co.nz what he felt as a gay man upon hearing the news.

"I was 20 when I finally plucked up the courage to come out.

Very soon afterwards, my good friend Lucy insisted we go to the local gay bar. I was apprehensive, but have an innate inability to say no to people, so I walked out of the closet, grabbed a pair of skinny jeans on my way, and went to party like the gay man I was proudly trying to be. 

To say it was overwhelming is an understatement. But then Fergie's Glamorous came on (hey, it was 2007) and I got lost. Lost in a feeling of security, of knowing I was absolutely, unequivocally allowed to be exactly who I was. It was a safe space, free from fear or judgement, and it felt fantastic.

A lot has changed since 2007 (although I'd still dance my ass off to Fergie). We've come a long way in terms of our tolerance and acceptance of LGBT people. But that safe feeling has never left me any time I’ve step inside a gay club. 

But this weekend, one of those spaces became terrifyingly unsafe.

The deaths of approximately 50 people at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida is the deadliest shooting in US history. That, in itself, is horrific.

But this wasn't a mass shooting at a place that just happened to be a gay bar..."

Read the rest of Matty's words at spy.co.nz