Reply must be at least 200-300 words and at least 2 citations from sources such as your textbook, peer-reviewed journal articles, and the Bible. The thread and replies must follow current APA format.

Maxfield, M. G., & Babbie, E. R. (2018). Research methods for criminal justice and criminology (8th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning. ISBN: 9781337091824.

***Leon***

Maxfield & Babbie (2018) asserts that Conceptual Definition is the working definition of a term or concept; whereas, Operational Definition is defined as a statement specifying what operations should be used to measure a concept. Conceptual,essentially is basically what the concept or term means, and Operational explains how to measure it. The term/concept  chosen for this assignment is Terrorist Attack/Hate Crimes on the LGBTQ community. On June 12, 2016, forty-nine people were killed and another fifty-three people were wounded in a terrorist attack/hate crime inside the Pulse, a gay-nightclub in Orlando, FL (Molina, Yegidis, & Jacinto, 2019). A study was conducted to analyze the factors affecting the community and its ability to remain resilient in the after-math of the shooting.  Several conceptual themes emerged as a result of the interviews:  1) The attack was a hate crime and act of terrorism aimed at the LGBTQ Latinx; 2) The community became stronger and more unified after the attack; 3) Linguistic and cultural competence were imperative to responding to the attack; 4) Survivors of the attack continue to hurt and grieve; 5) Long-term mental health services are needed; and 6) Lessons learned are integral to community resilienceMolina, Yegidis, & Jacinto, 2019).  Because this was an apparent and intentional, yet surprise attack involving the deliberate use of violence against civilians, the event was officially identified as a terrorist attack.  Additionally, because the criminal act involved violence and motivated by prejudice against individuals whose sexual orientation was the catalyst for the ordeal, the event was also officially identified as a hate crime. 
A conceptual definition of Terrorist Attack and Hate Crime is the intentional act of violence perpetrated on a group of individuals motivated by prejudice due to one’s race, religion, or sexual orientation. By classifying this event as a Terrorist Attack/Hate Crime, the operational definition seeks to identify what specific operations should be performed to measure the concept (Maxfield & Babbie, 2018).  The following are used to measure Terrorist Attack and Hate Crime at the Pulse shooting:  1) To what extent did the shooter know the Pulse nightclub was a gay club with LGBTQ inhabitants; 2) How well was he informed concerning the racial makeup of those he targeted in the club since the majority was Latino;  and 3) What was his primary motivation in the killings? Racial, sexual orientation or both? 
The FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) is a program providing statistical data on crimes occurring from the state.  Hate crime laws play a vital role in the way that hate crime is categorized by individual states, the crimes that are reported in official statistics, and the way that hate crime is viewed by the United States in general (Stacey, 2015).  
From my Christian point of view, no one should be discriminated against based on their race, religion or sexual orientation.  Although I’m a Christian, and I am adamantly against homosexuality, I still believe everyone has a right to make decisions for their lives.  My prayer is for everyone to come into the knowledge of Christ, repent of their sins, and live a victorious life.  Nevertheless, I am not one to judge.  This killing was senseless.  We are never to take matters into our hands simply because we differ with someone’ personal choices or ideology.  I am encouraged by the word of God.  “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” (I Peter 5:7, King James Version).
References
Maxfield, M. G., & Babbie, E. R.  (2018).  Research methods for criminal justice and criminology (8th ed.) Boston, MA:  Cengage Learning.
Molina, O., Yegidis, B., & Jacinto, G.  (2019).  The pulse nightclub mass shooting and factors affecting community resilience following the terrorist attack.  Best Practice in Mental Health, 15(2), 1-15.
Stacey, M.  (2015).  The Effect of Law on Hate Crime Reporting:  The Case of Racial and Ethnic Violence.  American Journal of Criminal Justice, 40(4), 876-900.