Concert goers who simply wanted to be connected through music. Movie goers who simply wanted to be connected through film. Church goers who simply wanted be connected through religion. Little kids who simply wanted to go to school. The common thread is that innocent people went in only to have a good time, and many of them didn’t come out alive.

Another common thread is that the perpetrators were white males who somehow avoided being called terrorists. That needs to stop. These men are terrorists. It’s that simple.

Clark County Sheriff Joseph Lombardo refused to call the tragedy in Las Vegas an act of terrorism, stating, “No, not at this point; we believe it is a local individual, he resides here locally. We don’t know what his belief system was at this time.”

So maybe Stephen Paddock’s actions don’t match the Nevada definition of “terrorism.” Let’s consult their state law. Nevada legislation defines terrorism as: “any act that involves the use or attempted use of sabotage, coercion or violence which is intended to cause great bodily harm or death to the general population.”

With over 50 people dead and hundreds in the hospital, the tragedy should easily fit that definition and Lombardo, knowing his state’s law, should know better. It’s not that hard to call the perpetrator, Steven Paddock, a terrorist.

As Monday creeped on, the harrowing news from Vegas continuing to develop, President Donald Trump refused to call the attack terrorism, instead referring to it as “an act of pure evil.” Politicians and pundits continued to follow in his footsteps. The irony is that Trump regularly criticized former President Barack Obama and Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton for refusing to say “radical Islamic terrorism,” a phrase Obama and his predecessor, George W. Bush, avoided because of the inaccurate implication that terrorist groups such as ISIS speak for the entire Muslim religion.

It seems the “terrorism” label is a bit more difficult for politicians to apply when the perpetrator isn’t brown or of a religion they may be uncomfortable with.

But it’s not that hard. The tragedy of Las Vegas was caused by a terrorist named Stephen Paddock. See? It’s that easy. So why isn’t he being called that? Due to the inaction and lack of change following prior domestic terrorist events, like the ones perpetrated by Dylan Roof in Charleston, South Carolina, James Holmes in Aurora, Colorado and Adam Lanza in Sandy Hook, Connecticut.

This double standard is even more apparent when you run the numbers. According to Vox, “more Americans have been killed by white American men with no connection to Islam than by Muslim terrorists or foreigners.” America is currently in the midst of increasing homegrown extremism, and we’re doing little to address the causes or effects of the problem.

It’s a difficult discussion, though, and it requires Americans to perform a level of self-reflection that might make us uncomfortable. Why are some of us committing such heinous acts of violence? Whether it’s a gun problem or something more engrained into our cultural fabric, it’s time to stop ignoring the reality that we live in: domestic terrorism has become an issue that we must reconcile with.

After yet another of the “deadliest mass shootings in American history,” it seems the country has no idea where we go from here. But for the victims and the families of the concert goers, the movie goers, the church goers and the school children who died senseless deaths, it’s time for us to find out.