ORLANDO, Fla. — To commemorate the six-year remembrance of Orlando’s Pulse nightclub massacre, Gov. Ron DeSantis issued a proclamation ordering flags at all local and state buildings to be flown at half-staff from sunrise to sunset on Sunday.
“As a mark of respect for the victims, their families, and the many affected by this tragedy, I signed the attached Proclamation directing the flags of the United States and the State of Florida to be flown at half-staff at all local and state buildings, installations, and grounds throughout the State of Florida,” it read.
On June 12, 2016, a gunman walked into the gay nightclub near downtown Orlando and shot 49 people to death and injured dozens of others in what was at the time the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.
The proclamation comes as DeSantis faces criticism from members and advocates of the LGBTQ community for passing what they claim to be anti-LGBTQ legislation and previously vetoing $150,000 in state funds that would have provided counseling for survivors.
“Let’s be clear about what this is: Governor DeSantis has declared war on Florida’s LGBTQ community,” Brandon Wolf, a Pulse survivor with Equality Florida, a statewide LGBTQ civil rights organization, said in a previous article about the veto of funds. In the report, DeSantis’ press secretary, Christina Pushaw, called the characterization of the governor’s vetoes “patently false” and noted that overall spending for community-based mental health services grew by $212 million statewide.
Members of the community also rallied against a bill DeSantis signed last year that bans transgender athletes from competing in girls’ and women’s school sports. More recently, DeSantis’ administration made moves to potentially deny Medicaid coverage for treatments such as hormone therapy and puberty-blocking medication for transgender people.
The governor also made headlines across the globe when he passed House Bill 1557, a controversial measure derided as the “don’t say gay” bill.
The legislation prohibits the discussion of sexual orientation or gender identity in schools up to the third grade and limits it to “age-appropriate” students in higher grades. Parents will also be able to sue school districts over the issue.
DeSantis entered into a heated cultural debate with Disney after its CEO, Bob Chapek, suspended the company’s political contributions in Florida in response. DeSantis then had the state Legislature pass a bill that dissolves Disney’s self-governed Reedy Creek Improvement District next year.
Last year, DeSantis named June 12 as Pulse Remembrance Day to annually recognize the 49 people killed and dozens wounded in the mass shooting.
For several years he has issued similar proclamations since the tragedy, though in 2019 he faced criticism again after initially failing to mention the LGBTQ+ community in his proclamation, though he later reissued the document to correct the omission.
In this year’s proclamation, he called the massacre “a senseless and hateful act, and one of the darkest moments in our state’s history.”
“The state of Florida will not tolerate hatred towards the LGBT and Hispanic communities, and together we stand united against terrorism and hate of any kind.”
———
