Pulse Massacre

My Pulse Memory: “Their Phones Kept Ringing”

Gentle readers, on today’s sixth anniversary of the Pulse massacre, I’m rerunning my account of that day. The story below originally ran on Pride Life’s website on July 12th 2016 and makes its third appearance on JMG today. Their Phones Kept Ringing One month ago today, Sunday June 12th, around 8AM, I began my day, as usual, by examining my …

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Democrats Mark Pulse Massacre Remembrance Day

From the Democratic National Committee: DNC Chair Jaime Harrison, DNC Secretary Jason Rae, and LGBTQ Caucus Chair Earl Fowlkes issued the following joint statement on Pulse Remembrance Day: Today marks the sixth anniversary of the mass shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, a horrific tragedy that cut short the lives of 49 people — the vast majority of whom …

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Biden Marks Pulse Anniversary: We Must Acknowledge Gun Violence’s Particular Impact On LGBTQ Community

Via press release from the White House: Five years ago today in Orlando in the middle of Pride Month, our nation suffered the deadliest attack affecting the LGBTQ+ community in American history, and at the time, the deadliest mass shooting by a single gunman. Within minutes, the Pulse nightclub that had long been a place of acceptance and joy turned …

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DNC Honors Pulse Victims With Call For Gun Reform

Just in via press release: 5 years ago, 49 LGBTQ people, largely Black and Latinx, were killed in the deadliest attack on LGBTQ people in American history. The shooting is also the second-deadliest mass shooting in American history. In response, DNC Chair Jaime Harrison, DNC Secretary Jason Rae and DNC LGBTQ Caucus Chair Earl Fowlkes released the following statement: “Five …

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My Pulse Memory: Their Phones Kept Ringing

Gentle readers, on today’s fifth anniversary of the Pulse massacre, I’m rerunning my account of that day. The story below originally ran on Pride Life’s website on July 12th 2016 and makes its second appearance on JMG today. Their Phones Kept Ringing One month ago today, Sunday June 12th, around 8AM I began my day, as usual, by examining my …

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FLORIDA: GOP Gov Blames “Staff Error” After His Pulse Proclamation Removes Mention Of LGBTQ Community

The Washington Post reports: Rick Scott, when he was Florida’s governor, made the proclamation a year ago to mark the anniversary of the massacre at the Pulse nightclub two years before. A gunman killed 49 people at the LGBTQ-oriented club in 2016, what was then the largest mass shooting in U.S. history, and Scott, now a Republican senator, noted that …

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My Pulse Memory: Their Phones Kept Ringing

Gentle readers, on today’s third anniversary of the Pulse massacre, I’m rerunning my account of that day. The story below originally ran on Pride Life’s website on July 12th 2016 and makes its first appearance on JMG today. Their Phones Kept Ringing One month ago today, Sunday June 12th, around 8AM I began my day, as usual, by examining my …

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Bill Would Make Pulse Nightclub A National Memorial

CNN reports: In the days ahead of the third anniversary of the mass shooting at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida lawmakers have proposed plans to designate the nightclub a national memorial. U.S. Reps. Darren Soto and Stephanie Murphy, both from Central Florida, announced their plan to declare Pulse a federal landmark at a service in front of the temporary memorial …

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Dems To Hold House Vote Condemning Anti-Semitism

Politico reports: The House will vote Thursday on a resolution condemning anti-Semitism, an indirect rebuke of controversial comments by Rep. Ilhan Omar that has inflamed the Democratic Caucus and which party leaders are eager to put behind them. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) made the announcement in a closed-door meeting Thursday morning. “It’s going to say that we are …

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Cuomo Unveils New York City’s First LGBT Memorial

Curbed New York reports: Nearly a year after it was first announced, New York City’s first official memorial dedicated to the LGBTQ community is set to debut in Hudson River Park. Governor Andrew Cuomo, along with City Council speaker Corey Johnson, Senator Brad Hoylman, and other elected officials, unveiled the monument, two years in the making, which is intended to …

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Democrats Mark Pulse Anniversary With Vow To Pursue “Common Sense Gun Reforms” And LGBTQ Rights

Just in from DNC chairman Tom Perez: “Two years ago, our nation witnessed one of the deadliest mass shootings in American history. It was an attack on the LGBTQ community, the Latinx community, and LGBTQ people of color everywhere. It was an attack on the American people and the values of diversity and equality that all of us should cherish. …

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ORLANDO: Activists And Survivors Mark Second Pulse Massacre Anniversary With Rally For Tougher Gun Laws

The Orlando Sentinel reports: An emotional, rain-soaked rally on the eve of the Pulse anniversary Monday evening was mixed with anguish and raw anger over the lack of progress on gun reform and gay rights in Florida and the sheer number of mass shootings that have happened since. “Six hundred and twelve days,” said Brandon Wolf, a survivor of the …

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ORLANDO: Interim Pulse Memorial Opens [VIDEO]

The Orlando Sentinel reports: The onePULSE Foundation is unveiling the Orlando nightclub’s “interim” memorial today, designed to be a temporary tribute to the victims and survivors of the 2016 mass shooting. During a dedication ceremony this morning, Pulse nightclub owner and onePULSE Foundation founder Barbara Poma thanked local companies that contributed to the project. She also praised the survivors and …

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ORLANDO: Wife Of Pulse Gunman Demands Mistrial After Revelation That Father-In-Law Was FBI Informant

CNN reports: Attorneys for Noor Salman called for a dismissal of charges or a mistrial, saying that new details from prosecutors reveal that Pulse gunman Omar Mateen’s father was an FBI informant who is currently under a criminal investigation. According to a motion filed by the defense, Assistant US Attorney Sara Sweeney sent an email on Saturday to the defense …

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ORLANDO: Pulse And Parkland Survivors Meet [VIDEO]

The Orlando Sentinel reports: Survivors of the mass shootings at Orlando’s Pulse nightclub and a South Florida high school embraced Wednesday outside the club where 49 people were killed nearly two years ago. “We’re all family,” said Neema Bahrami, who was an event manager at Pulse at the time of the attack. Pulse survivors, wearing shirts that read “We Will …

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Pulse Massacre Gunman’s Wife: I Knew In Advance

USA Today reports: A handwritten statement given to the FBI by the wife of Pulse nightclub gunman Omar Mateen says she saw him prepare for the deadly attack for months and knew that the LGBT nightclub was his target. The 12-page statement, quietly released by federal authorities at the end of December in a batch of records in the case, …

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ORLANDO: Wife Of Pulse Shooter Loses Battle To Move Trial, Claimed No Local Jurors Could Be Impartial

USA Today reports: The widow of Pulse nightclub gunman Omar Mateen will stand trial in Orlando, home to the nation’s second deadliest mass shooting in modern history, after a federal judge ruled staying in the city wouldn’t prevent a fair trial. Lawyers for Noor Salman had fought to move the case outside the city, arguing intense media coverage of the …

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Wife Of Pulse Shooter Claims No Knowledge Of Plot, Says Husband Was Cheating Via Dating Sites [VIDEO]

The Orlando Sentinel reports: Attorneys for the wife of Pulse nightclub shooter Omar Mateen wrote in a motion filed on Monday that he was using online dating websites such as Plenty of Fish to cheat on her. Noor Salman’s attorneys said in the motion that Mateen used a mutual friend as a cover story so he could go out with …

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Trump Pays Tribute To Pulse Massacre Victims

This afternoon on the one year anniversary of the Pulse massacre, Trump issued the above tweet memorializing the victims. One year ago today, however, after first tweeting that he was “praying” for the victims, Trump was full of self-praise an hour later, tweeting, “Appreciate the congrats for being right on radical Islamic terrorism, I don’t want congrats, I want toughness …

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ORLANDO: “Angels” Mark Pulse Anniversary [VIDEO]

The Orlando Sentinel reports: As he walked up to the Pulse nightclub, memories of last June clouded Ramses Tinoco’s head. He still remembered hearing the gunshots. He remembered running for his life. But the place that has haunted him for a year was different early Monday. Dozens of angels stood guard outside, their wings made of PVC pipes and flowing …

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