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Six years since the tragedy at Pulse Nightclub, we remember the 49 lives that were taken by a hate-fueled act of gun violence. Even as we celebrate Pride, their loss continues to reverberate throughout and beyond the Latinx, Black, and Queer communities. As lawmakers in Florida actively work to make our communities less safe, particularly for trans and queer youth—we honor those whose lives were stolen that night with a renewed call for action. We must continue to fight at the intersection of gun violence prevention and LGBTQ+ rights to make Florida—and the United States—safe for all.

“As we mark another year since the tragedy at Pulse, we are called upon to recommit to the work of honoring those impacted with action by working to end gun violence, disarm hate, and ensure that hate will not win.”

Brandon Wolf, Pulse Nightclub survivor and Equality Florida Press Secretary

In 2021, The Coalition for Pulse was formed. 

The coalition, including QLatinx, The Center Orlando, Contigo Fund, OnePulse Foundation, Equality Florida, Equality Federation Institute, GLAAD, Human Rights Campaign Foundation, One Orlando Alliance, Peer Support Space, and Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund, was created in an effort to continue to remember the victims and survivors of this horrific moment in our history. As organizations that center queer, Latinx, and/ or gun violence prevention work, our values focus on uplifting the voices of those lost at the Pulse Nightclub six years ago.

Read our joint statement

One Orlando Alliance

“Central Florida was changed forever on June 12, 2016. The LGBTQ+ community was deeply harmed by hatred but was then surrounded by love and compassion. We cannot allow the current hateful attacks of rhetoric to continue against our communities, and we call on all those who love us to stand with us. Violent rhetoric leads to emotional, mental, relational, and physical violence. Our community and every community deserves better. We deserve safety, dignity, respect, and the opportunity to enrich our surroundings as we live authentically.”

—Josh Bell, Executive Director, One Orlando Alliance

Equality Florida

“Six years ago, our community was rocked by a brutal act of gun violence fueled by unbridled hate. In the end, 49 of our friends and family members were stolen and people across the globe were left reeling. Unfortunately, we are once again facing the rising tide of anti-LGBTQ legislation and bigoted, dangerous rhetoric targeting marginalized people for cheap, political gain. We know that this climate of emboldened hate ultimately leads to discrimination — and violence. As we mark another year since the tragedy at Pulse, we are called upon to recommit to the work of honoring those impacted with action by working to end gun violence, disarm hate, and ensure that hate will not win.”

—Brandon Wolf, Pulse Nightclub survivor and Equality Florida Press Secretary

Equality Federation Institute

“This June, we mark six years since the tragedy at Pulse nightclub, a brutal act of violence that stole the lives of 49 people. Unfortunately, violence and hatred towards LGBTQ+ people haven’t gone away. This year alone, we saw state legislatures enact harmful anti-LGBTQ+ laws, particularly those targeting transgender young people and their families. In Florida and dozens of other states, anti-LGBTQ+ legislators are doing all they can to stop even the mention of our community, fueling a climate of hate that leads to greater violence against us. As we continue to fight for our ability to exist, we must keep honoring the memories of the lives cut short on June 12, 2016—and the many other members of the LGBTQ+ community whose lives have been taken or forever changed by hate and violence.”

—Fran Hutchins, Executive Director, Equality Federation

Peer Support Space

“Orlando has been on a healing journey for the past six years, and our community is stronger and better because of it. We are a beautiful example of resilience and acceptance. Our LGBTQ+ community has grown into a safe haven for individuals across the state and the world. We welcome all and are grateful for the support of our local elected officials. We mourn at the attacks on our collective rights coming out of Tallahassee, but in times like this we continue to rely on each other and support one another as we continue to grow and heal.”

—Andres Acosta, Director of Respite Operations, Peer Support Space

GLAAD

“Six years after the deadliest single incident of violence against the LGBTQ community in U.S. history, it is more important than ever that we remember the 49 people killed and that we ensure the safety of our communities moving forward. Anti-LGBTQ bias takes many forms, from bans on education and books to social media harassment and misinformation, but too often it leads to violence. Right now, legislators in Florida and elsewhere are playing a dangerous game by bowing to anti-LGBTQ extremists, passing laws that roll back equality, and broadcasting harmful messages about LGBTQ people—especially about transgender youth and their families. These attacks must stop now. We will not go backward.”

—Sarah Kate Ellis, President and CEO, GLAAD

Contigo Fund

“The recent news out of Buffalo, Laguna Woods, and Uvalde’s unimaginable horror deeply resonates with Orlando. The hurt, trauma, and ripple effect caused by gun violence run deep after the headlines disappear. Contigo Fund, the first and only LGBTQ+ Latinx fund in the United States, was launched in response to the horrific June 12, 2016, Pulse nightclub massacre in Orlando on Latinx Night targeting LGBTQ+ people of color. Contigo Fund will continue to be there for the community by offering financial support, strengthening connections, and building on the leadership of individuals and the capacity of organizations, especially emerging and grassroots groups that often lack access to mainstream philanthropy. As we approach the 6-year mark since the Pulse shooting, we remember those whose lives were taken, the survivors still fighting, and the community who continues to be there for those pushed to the margins of our society.”

—Joél J. Morales, Foundation Manager, Contigo Fund

QLatinx

“From the individuals killed and injured in atrocities such as the Pulse 6 years ago to the countless Queer, Trans, Black,Indigenous, People of Color killed by firearms daily. The consequences of gun violence are more prevalent within nuestrx comunidades and the families, children and those left behind from these tragedies are forever changed. It becomes t becomes not just an issue of gun regulation, but also of addressing the impact on those who have been traumatized by such violence,past the immediate flashing media story. The hatred towards the LGBTQIA+ folxs hasn’t gone away, and for many of us, we live with the consistent reminders, and triggers daily. QTBIPOC voices are an essential part of the growing calls for action to make our country safer. We as a community are no longer willing to accept the violence. We can turn our pain into action. The actions we take today, can save a life tomorrow.”

—Gabriella Rodriguez, Executive Director of QLatinx

Human Rights Campaign Foundation

“Even as the years go by, the horror of what took place on June 12, 2016, at the Pulse Nightclub remains fresh in the minds of the LGBTQ+ community. LGBTQ+ lives remain under threat, and gun violence continues to be an ever-present nightmare. Whether it is school children in Uvalde, Black grocery store shoppers in Buffalo, intimate partner violence, or anti-transgender violence, gun violence can and does touch everyone’s lives, particularly the most marginalized. As Black trans women continue to face an epidemic of violence; as almost 30 hate crimes involving a gun occur a day; as children continue to feel unsafe in their schools, it is more urgent than ever that concrete steps be taken to end gun violence and ensure the safety of all people, including the LGBTQ+ community.”

—Joni Madison, Interim President, Human Rights Campaign Foundation

OnePulse Foundation

“Our hearts will forever ache for the 49 lives taken, the victims’ families, survivors, first responders and all those affected by the Pulse nightclub tragedy of June 12, 2016. We honor the memories and legacies of our 49 Angels each and every day, while continuing our important work to create and support a memorial that opens hearts, a museum that opens minds, educational programs that open eyes and legacy scholarships that open doors. We must ensure that future generations never forget what happened at Pulse, and further our message: We will not let hate win.”

—Scott Bowman, Chief Communications Officer, onePULSE Foundation

Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund

“Six years since the tragedy at Pulse, mass shootings and gun violence across the country continue to underscore the fact that lawmakers are failing to keep our communities safe every single day. This country’s gun violence crisis places a disproportionate burden on marginalized people, including people of color and LGBTQ+ people, and for too long, policymakers have turned a blind eye. This Pride month, gun safety advocates are activating across the country to make sure policymakers don’t look away from the scourge of violence plaguing our communities. We will continue to show up and hold them accountable until they step up and act.”

—Becky George, Senior Advisor for Movement Building, Everytown for Gun Safety

Attend local events

Contigo Fund
For Us, By Us: A Tribute to Those Surviving & Fighting for Change

Sunday, June 12

Contigo Fund, with grassroots leaders, is hosting an event for our agents of change, voices from our local community going from pain to a place of power. We will highlight the voices of survivors and families directly impacted that are working to make a change in their community.

Contigo Fund will also celebrate our 20+ LGBTQ and Social Justice Movement Partners. That has received over $600,000 in funding this year alone to support social and racial justice movements across Central Florida.

  • Location: Downtown Orlando Lake Eola Amphitheater, 195 N Rosalind Ave., Orlando, FL 32801
  • Time: 1:00pm – 3:00pm

Dru Project
Annual Scholarship Award Event

Saturday, June 11

This year’s annual scholarship award event is a drag brunch to announce this year’s scholarship award recipients and raise funds to support next year’s awards and our Gay Straight Alliance club grant program.

  • Location: The 808 in Thornton Park
  • Time: 12:00pm

OnePulse
Pulse Remembrance Week – Unity

  • Saturday, June 4

    6th Annual CommUNITY Rainbow Run

    • Location: Wadeview Park
    • Time:
      • 7:00am: Registration
      • 8:00am: Run begins

    St. Luke’s Youth Programming with John Pavlovitz

    • Location: St. Luke’s
    • Time: 6:00pm
  • Sunday, June 5

    Straight Men Real Makeup

    • Location: Hamburger Mary’s
    • Time:
      • 6:00pm: Doors open
      • 7:00pm: Show starts
  • Monday, June 6

    St. Luke’s Programming with John Pavlovitz

    • Location: St. Luke’s
    • Time: 7:00pm
  • Tuesday, June 7

    No events scheduled.

  • Wednesday, June 8

    Pulse First Responders Luncheon

  • Thursday, June 9

    How to Talk with Children About Pulse Remembrance Week and Why It Matters

    During Pulse Remembrance Week, our nation pauses to remember the tragic day in American history—Sunday, June 12, 2016—and to honor the 49 Angels that were taken, the 68 others who were injured, and the countless first responders and healthcare professionals who treated them.

    • Location: Virtual
    • Time: 12:00pm – 1:00pm
    • Speakers:
      • Keith Newhouse, author of My Tio’s Pulse, an award-winning children’s book inspired by the Pulse nightclub tragedy
      • Mark Newhouse, Keith’s father and son of Holocaust survivors from the infamous Lodz Polish ghetto and author of The Devil’s Bookkeepers
      • Barbara Poma, founder of OnePulse Foundation
    • Programming Partners:
      • Holocaust Memorial Resource and Education Center
      • OnePulse Foundation

    Orlando Sings Concert Event

    Orlando Sings Symphonic Chorus will present a concert of Maurice Duruflé’s “Requiem” and Andrea Clearfield’s “Tse Go La” in collaboration with the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra on June 9th at First United Methodist Church of Orlando. This concert will be presented in dedication to the 49 lives tragically lost on June 12th, 2016, a date many Orlandoans will never forget. Both of these pieces reflect upon and celebrate life in all of its stages from birth until final breath. We hope that this concert will provide our Orlando community a place to come together in reflection, honoring those lives who were affected on that tragic day. We also hope that the concert will bring a sense of peace and comfort to the community as we know that music is a powerful force; it uplifts and unites, and heals.

    • Location: First United Methodist Church
    • Time: 7:30pm

    Buy Tickets

  • Friday, June 10

    International Culture of Remembrance Symposium

    • Location: UCF Downtown
    • Time: 8:00am – 3:00pm

    United We Dance

    • Location: Thornton Park District
    • Time: 7:00pm – 12:00am
  • Saturday, June 11

    International Culture of Remembrance Symposium

    • Location: UCF Downtown
    • Time: 8:00am – 3:00pm

    Zebra Coalition Pride Prom

    • Location: Orlando Museum of Art
    • Time: 6:00pm – 10:00pm
  • Sunday, June 12

    49 Bells Ceremony

    • Time: 12:00pm

    Pulse Family Dinner

    • Location: First United Methodist
    • Time: 5:00pm – 6:00pm

    Annual Remembrance Ceremony

    • Location: Pulse Interim Memorial
    • Time: 7:00pm – 8:00pm

QLatinx

  • Sunday, June 5

    Community Conversation

    QLatinx, with the support of Latino Justice and Everytown, will be hosting a community conversation surrounding the local impact on gun violence. We hope to elevate the voice of those primarily impacted as a platform to share.

    • Location: Lake Eola NorthEast Lawn
    • Time: 12:00pm – 3:00pm
  • Friday, June 10

    New Moon Yoga for the Pulse Remembrance

    New Moon Yoga for the Pulse Remembrance is an event created together with community members to practice restorative yoga as a way to channel intentions six years after the Pulse tragedy. We pause to acknowledge our emotions and sow seeds of hope and transformation.

    • Location: The LGBT Center 946 North Mills Ave., Orlando, FL 32803
    • Time: 6:00pm
  • Saturday, June 11

    Legacy Work

    This event is intended for staff members of organizations that support survivors and community members affected by the Pulse tragedy six years ago. It will be facilitated by an experienced, licensed mental health provider who focuses work on legacy projects. The main purpose is to have some time to acknowledge not only the impacts of the tragedy over our professional and personal lives, but to identify all the work that has been done through many efforts and initiations that have supported survivors and the community.

    • Location: The LGBT Center 946 North Mills Ave., Orlando, FL 32803
    • Time: 6:00pm
  • Sunday, June 12

    For US By US

    As we near the sixth annual Pulse remembrance event, Contigo Fund—with grassroots leaders—is hosting an event for our agents of change, voices from our local community going from pain to a place of power. We will highlight the voices of survivors and families directly impacted that are working to make a change in their community.

    • Location: Lake Eola Amphitheatre 195 N Rosalind Ave., Orlando, FL 32801
    • Time: 1:00pm – 3:30pm
  • Monday, June 13

    Community Care Rooms

    Community care rooms after the Pulse remembrance to debrief with other responders organizational staff and the community to come together in community.

    • Location: Zoom
    • Time:
      • 9:00am – 12:00pm
      • 1:00pm – 4:00pm

    Join Here »

  • Saturday, June 18

    Keep Healing Orlando

    Keep Healing Orlando is a holistic wellness event founded by Impulse Orlando and QLatinx with intention to bring the community together. This experience offers a lineup of activities massage/yoga meditation, various workshops, speakers, and vendors that are all associated with wellness, self care, positivity, and respect.

    • Location: Ace Cafe 100 W Livingston St, Orlando, FL 32801
    • Time: 5:00pm – 9:00pm

What You Can Do

We ask that you honor the victims not with empty words or hollow sympathies, but with actions to advance equality and combat violence against LGBTQ+ and Latinx people.

Learn about the issue

Share facts and information about the impact of gun violence on the LGBTQ+ community. Read a report created by Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund, Giffords Law, Human Rights Campaign Foundation, and Equality Florida on how anti-LGBTQ bias and guns are taking the lives of countless LGBTQ people.

Share your support on social media

Show your support on social media using our graphics and sample posts.

Use our social media toolkit

Amplify stories

Honor and amplify stories of the victims, survivors, first responders of the shooting at the Pulse nightclub five years ago and/or those who have directly experienced gun violence. Here are some stories you can amplify:

Jerry Wright

Jerry Wright photo

“Jerry was a wonderful, loving, caring son. He was friends with everyone and truly wanted to make this world a better place. He was an entrepreneur at heart.”

—Fred J. Wright, father of Jerry Wright

Chris Brodman

Chris Brodman photo

“Chris was the most alive person I had ever met. Being the recipient of his smile was like being in the sun. A streetwise New York kid complete with the accent, he found a home in Orlando.”

—Jim M.

Christopher “Drew” Leinonen

Christopher Leinonen’s mother, Christine, holding a young Christopher

“My son, Christopher, was an easy-going child from birth. He was fun and happy. He used to love taking baths when he was little because I always sang his favorite song during bath time.”

—Christine Leinonen, mother of Christopher “Drew” Leinonen

Share your own story

If you are of the LGBTQ+ and/or Latinx community and feel comfortable sharing your stories then go to Moments That Survive and share your story or share on your own social media.

When you share a story, use one of the following hashtags

  • #Pulse6YearsLater
  • #RememberPulse
  • #Pulse6AnosDespues
  • #DisarmHate

Join our community of survivors

Everytown Survivor Network logo

If you have been personally affected by gun violence and want to join a nationwide community of Survivors that are working together to find solutions to end gun violence, please consider joining the Everytown Survivor Network.


Give a gift to any of the organizations listed below.

QLatinx is a grassroots racial, social, and gender justice organization dedicated to the advancement and empowerment of Central Florida’s LGBTQ+ Latinx community.

The Center Orlando promotes and empowers the LGBTQ+ community and its allies through information, education, advocacy, and support. Learn more about The Center’s OUAC program.

OnePulse Foundation was established to create a sanctuary of hope following the tragic day in American history–Sunday, June 12, 2016–to honor the 49 Angels that were taken, the 68 others who were injured and the countless first responders and healthcare professionals who treated them.

Equality Florida is the largest civil rights organization dedicated to securing full equality for Florida’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) community.

Equality Federation Institute is the movement builder and strategic partner to state-based organizations advocating for LGBTQ people. From Equality Florida to Freedom Oklahoma to Basic Rights Oregon, we amplify the power of the state-based LGBTQ movement.

Human Rights Campaign Foundation: by inspiring and engaging individuals and communities, the Human Rights Campaign strives to end discrimination against LGBTQ people and realize a world that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all. 

Contigo fund logo

Contigo Fund, which emerged from the Pulse tragedy, offers financial support to organizations working to heal, educate and empower LGBTQ and Latinx individuals, immigrants and people of color, as well as those working to end all forms of bigotry in Central Florida.

GLAAD logo

GLAAD rewrites the script for LGBTQ acceptance. As a dynamic media force, GLAAD tackles tough issues to shape the narrative and provoke dialogue that leads to cultural change. GLAAD protects all that has been accomplished and creates a world where everyone can live the life they love.

One Orlando Alliance logo

In the aftermath of the Pulse tragedy in 2016, organizations came together to meet the needs of our traumatized community. This informal partnership grew into the One Orlando Alliance, a coalition of diverse organizations honoring the memory of the lives taken and all those affected at Pulse by serving and strengthening the LGBTQ+ community. Through a multi-sector network of partnerships, One Orlando Alliance is transforming Central Florida into a community where all LGBTQ+ people can belong and thrive.

Peer Support Space logo

Peer Support Space was founded as a peer-led organization, that exists outside of the current system, where we use our lived experience to support and hold space for one another as we navigate our unique journeys with life struggles, mental illness and/or substance misuse challenges, neurodivergence, disability, grief, trauma, or other obstacles to mental wellness. We use, and help others use, the power of lived experience to support, educate, and guide one another while providing additional, free options for mental wellness.

The Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund is the education, research, and litigation arm of Everytown for Gun Safety, the largest gun violence prevention organization in the country.