Pulse Shooting Anniversary

Floor Speech

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Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, 9 years ago today, 49 lives were stolen and ripped away from us at Pulse nightclub in my district, in my home of Orlando, Florida, a safe haven for Orlando's LGBTQ+ community that was turned into the site of unimaginable horror and a mass grave.

Pulse was more than just a club. It was love. It was joy. It was freedom and a space for a community facing constant adversity, from our State, and people like in our inner administration.

Just today, Governor Ron DeSantis deleted from the annual anniversary statement the words and acronyms ``LGBTQ+'' and ``Hispanic,'' when most of the people who were killed that day were from the LGBTQ+ community and Hispanic. This was armed bigotry, and it was armed hate.

I am oftentimes asked why I don't join moments of silence that include Republicans for gun violence, and the reason why is because they refuse to do anything about it. I am not going to be a prop in some social media video that is posted later to placate constituents about ending gun violence. I am going to continue to honor them with action, not just with thoughts and prayers.

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