Nine years after a gunman opened fire on Latin Night at the gay Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) dropped any reference to LGBTQ+ or Latin people from remarks on the anniversary of the shooting.
The 49 victims who died in the attack were mostly gay and Latin people.
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The City of Orlando plans to purchase Pulse nightclub site & finally turn it into a memorial
There have been several failed attempts to turn the site of the massacre into a space that honors the 49 people who were killed.
In his previous statement recognizing the shooting on June 12, 2016, DeSantis called it “a horrific act of terrorism against the LGBTQ and Hispanic communities.”
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This year’s statement instead throws a spotlight on the attacker.
“Nine years ago, on June 12, 2016, a shooter claiming alliance to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant committed a horrific act of terrorism at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida,” DeSantis said, in an order lowering state flags to half-mast for the day.
It was a remarkable show of callous disregard for the victims, their families, and survivors, as DeSantis embraces the erasure of LGBTQ+ and non-white identities in government and society, an agenda promoted by the Trump administration.
The blatantly racist and homophobic omission comes as families and survivors visit the site of the massacre before its demolition. The demolition will make way for a long-troubled memorial to the victims.
Those plans have been plagued by dysfunction.
A foundation created to shepherd the project closed down two years ago after raising $20 million, most of which went to foundation employees. The COVID-19 pandemic and disagreements over a memorial design further delayed progress.
In February, the city released a conceptual design created by an advisory committee of 18 survivors, family members, and community leaders that has been roundly panned.
The concepts included a memorial and reflection space, a survivors’ tribute wall, a private gathering space for personal reflection, a walkway with columns honoring the 49 victims on rainbow glass panels, a healing garden, and a visitor’s center and gift shop.
While releasing the overwrought concept, the city made a point to say “admission to the memorial will be free,” underlining its appeal as a possible tourist site.
Former Pulse patron Zachary Blair, co-founder of the grassroots group Pulse Families and Survivors for Justice, said his group believes the city’s current memorial design is “too garish. It’s too touristy.”
“It’s not a somber, reflective, dignified space where families and the public can come to pay their respects,” he told CNN.
Christine Leinonen, another co-founder of the Blair’s group who is also the mother of the shooting victim Christopher Andrew Leinonen, agreed. She said the memorial plans have spun out of control and away from respect for the victims.
She’d be happy with an outdoor memorial park with trees and a walking path. The current design isn’t “a fitting tribute to those we lost that day,” she said.
“We want a simplified, dignified, free, easy space,” Leinonen. “A place where people can stop by while they are out walking. Let’s not take a mass shooting and make it into your form of collecting tourist dollars,” she said of city leaders.
Brandon Wolf, who survived the Pulse shooting by hiding in a bathroom and now serves as national press secretary for the Human Rights Campaign, said it’s past time for the Pulse family to have a “respectful, permanent place to pay their respects.”
“I am looking forward to a space that is worthy of the memory of my best friends,” he said, “one where I can feel close to them and reflect on why we have to continue doing the work to honor them with action.”
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