Yesterday marked the ninth anniversary of the Pulse tragedy in Orlando.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis marked the somber milestone by releasing a statement and calling for flags to fly at half mast for the day.
He called the events that unfolded at Pulse that night, “A horrific act of terrorism.”
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His statement was almost identical to those he’s released over the past six years. However, his previous statements described the incident as “A horrific act … against LGBTQ and Hispanic communities.”
In 2019, in his first year as Governor, DeSantis’s statement also failed to mention queer and Hispanic people. He faced immediate backlash and subsequently issued an amended statement.
DeSantis defended himself on that occasion and said he was “not involved” with preparing the first draft of his statement.
“Sometimes these things happen, and you’ve got to correct them,” he said during a press conference at the time.
After his failed attempt to become the Republican nominee for President in 2024, DeSantis has seen D*n*ld Tr*mp return to the White House. The President has ditched policies promoting diversity, equity and inclusion and removed LGBTQ+ references from federal websites and documents. DeSantis has echoed these moves in Florida. He also, of course, championed Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” legislation.
DeSantis’s office has not responded to requests for comment about the Governor’s latest Pulse statement and its omissions.
“Gov. DeSantis’ erasure of the LGBTQ+ and Latino communities today may say a lot about what kind of person he is, but it doesn’t change the fact that those were the communities most directly impacted at Pulse,” Brandon Wolf, a Pulse survivor who serves as spokesman for the Human Rights Campaign, told the Orlando Sentinel.
Razing of club and memorial plans
On June 12, 2016, the beloved queer nightclub Pulse was hosting a Hispanic night. A man walked in and opened fire on clubgoers. Forty-nine people died and many others injured.
Following the tragedy, the club’s former owner, Barbara Poma, helped set up the onePulse Foundation. The organization drew up ambitious plans for a $45 million memorial and museum. However, after costs for the proposed plans soared to $100 million, Poma quit the organization. The plans were abandoned.
In 2023, the city of Orlando purchased the site of the nightclub. A temporary memorial structure that features the faces of those lost currently surrounds it. The city plans a more modest $12 million memorial, due to open in 2027.
This week, the city invited families of the victims and survivors to walk through the club for one last time, before it is razed to make way for the memorial.
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