Mark Takano: “I thank the gentleman for yielding. Four years ago, during Pride Month, our country awoke to the devastating news about…”

“I thank the gentleman for yielding. Four years ago, during Pride Month, our country awoke to the devastating news about a shooting at a nightclub in Orlando, Florida. The Pulse nightclub, a safe haven for the LGBTQ-plus community in Orlando was the target of an act of hate. Forty-nine lives were taken and 53 were wounded after a gunman opened fire. The victims and survivors were LGBTQ-plus and members of the Latinx community. This shooting was one of the deadliest attacks on LGBTQ-plus Americans in our history, and it left our community hurting, fearful, and skeptical about the progress our Nation had made towards acceptance, understanding, and belonging for LGBTQ-plus people. Four years later, we are still grieving, we are still healing, and we are still demanding action to make equality the law of the land and to end gun violence in America. When I visited Orlando to pay my respects to the victims and to honor their memories, what I saw at Pulse during such a painful time gave me hope. I saw a community that had come together to condemn hate, to reject intolerance, and to celebrate the lives of every single soul that was lost that night. Our community's pride and the bravery we exhibit when we choose to embrace our identity, even in the face of hate and homophobia, is proof of how resilient we are.…”