Overview

• The 2025 Pulse Remembrance Day memorandum omitted any mention of LGBTQ+ or Hispanic communities despite their being the primary targets of the 2016 massacre.
• Since his first year in office, DeSantis had consistently named those communities in anniversary statements until this unexplained reversal.
• Survivors and advocates such as Brandon Wolf and state Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith called the omission an erasure of the lives most affected.
• U.S. Sen. Rick Scott issued a separate commemoration explicitly honoring LGBTQ+ and Hispanic victims, highlighting the contrast with the governor’s statement.
• The move aligns with broader efforts under DeSantis and President Trump to remove references to diversity, equity, and inclusion from government communications.