Governor DeSantis Removes LGBTQ Reference From Pulse Anniversary Memo

Despite the fact that we're halfway through Pride month, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis did not make any mention of the LGBTQ community during his remembrancer proclamation for the Pulse nightclub massacre on its third anniversary of the deadly attack.

On Wednesday (June 12), Governor DeSantis scrubbed a mention of the queer community when honoring the anniversary of attack, which saw a gunman kill 49 individuals when he opened fire at the Orlando venue in 2016. Interestingly enough, in 2018 then-Governor Rick Scott's memo to the state recognized the anniversary as a day to "mourn the tragic loss of life and recognize the lasting impact it has on our state and communities, including Florida's LGBTQ community." DeSantis' Pulse Memorial Day proclamation replaced the "LGBTQ community" with "Orlando and Central Florida community."

State Rep. Anna Eskamani was the first to make mention of his proclamation, calling the statement "completely straight-washed." "Imagine if the Mayor of Pittsburgh didn’t talk about the Jewish community in a proclamation about the synagogue shooting," she wrote on Twitter. "That would NEVER happen. But I guess denying the existence of #LGBTQ people is ok in Florida."

Hours after the memo started to gain steam, DeSantis took to Twitter to make up for his mishap. "Today we mourn the loss of life of 49 innocent victims of an ISIS-inspired terrorist attack at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando that targeted the LGBTQ and Hispanic community, and Florida as a whole," he wrote. "In honor of their memory, I am ordering flags to be lowered to half-staff."

World Pride 2019 is on its way and iHeartPride is celebrating the monumental June celebration with all kinds of coverage. iHeartRadio, Z100 New York and 103.5 KTU are Presenting Media Sponsors for NYC Pride and we’re taking the milestone to heart with LGBTQ-focused coverage on everything from entertainment, politics and details on the summer festivities. After all, it does coincide with the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising. Stay tuned for more on World Pride 2019 and keep an eye out for our float in the Big Apple’s all accumulating parade on June 30!

Photo: Getty Images


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