Remembering Pulse

Caution: this article contains potentially triggering language around gun violence and trauma. Today marks the three-year anniversary of the mass shooting at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, FL. Let us take a moment to pause, reflect, and remember. In the largest single-act of violence against against the queer community, 49 lives were lost, and an additional 50+ were injured. The act carried out by claimed ISIS “Islamic soldier” Omar Mateen on June 12, 2016 occurred inside the Florida nightclub and took the crowded space from celebration to terror. “Pulse wasn’t an attack on just one community–it was an attack on LGBTQ Americans, Latinx Americans, and Black Americans,” said presidential hopeful Mayor Pete Buttigieg in a statement. “It was an attack on people who look like me, and an attack on people who look nothing like me. It was an attack on all of us. It was an attack on individuals expressing their sexuality, their heritage, their gender, and their freedom.” While Denver prepares for the Pride festivities this coming weekend, we must not forget those who have come before us and lost their lives in the continued assault against the LGBTQ community. “Evil flows from peoples’ ability to see another human being as something other than a person; good comes from the ability to see and treasure another’s humanity as one’s own. That’s also called love, and love is going to win,” Buttigieg said. As 2019 marks the 50th anniversary of Stonewall, the fact that Pulse occurred only three years ago is proof that, while the queer community continues to see progress, there is far too much work still to be done.