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5d ago

DeSantis Excludes LGBTQ and Hispanic Communities From Pulse Remembrance Statement

Critics say the omission mirrors a broader rollback of diversity acknowledgments under President Trump.

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Orlando resident Jakob Strawn reflects on the scene at the Pulse nightclub shooting site in Orlando on the 9th anniversary of the 2016 massacre that killed 49, Thursday, June 12, 2025. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel)
On June 12, 2018, Gov. Rick Scott and his wife Ann visited the memorial to the 49 shooting victims of the Pulse nightclub where the shootings took place two years ago in Orlando.
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Overview

  • DeSantis’ 2025 Pulse Remembrance Day memorandum omits any mention of the LGBTQ and Hispanic communities targeted in the 2016 massacre.
  • He had included those references each year since 2019 after correcting an initial omission that drew widespread backlash in his first term.
  • State Sens. Carlos Guillermo Smith and Shevrin Jones described the omission as a deliberate erasure of the communities most affected by the shooting.
  • Pulse survivor Brandon Wolf and LGBTQ advocates warn that removing those acknowledgments undermines solidarity and ignores the identities of the victims.
  • U.S. Sen. Rick Scott’s separate remembrance statement retained mention of LGBTQ and Hispanic victims, underscoring divisions among Republican leaders in Florida.