Nearly five years after the Pulse nightclub shooting killed 49 and wounded 53 others, the U.S. House passed a bill Wednesday designating the site as a national memorial.
The House passed H.R. 49 shortly after 1:30 p.m. Wednesday following a brief debate. A similar bill, H.R. 3094, unanimously passed the House last year but stalled in the Senate.
Flanked by photos of the victims of the shooting, the bill’s sponsor Rep. Darren Soto, D-Kissimmee, moved to pass the bill by underscoring the importance of memorializing the victims and survivors of the June 12, 2016, shooting alongside the first responders who were on the tragedy’s frontlines and the Central Florida community that united against hatred in the shooting’s wake.
“This horrific act of hate and terror … could have divided us, but we came together stronger than ever before,” he said. “Orlando swore as a community to never forget those we lost that night. Their stories, their images, their memories and their spirits and memories must live on in our hearts. … Together we will open minds and hearts, we will make the Pulse memorial a national symbol of hope, love and change.”
The bill’s Central Florida co-sponsors also took the floor Wednesday to endorse the monument’s national recognition. Rep. Val Demings, D-Orlando, called the nightclub a nexus for the Orlando community and said the legislation upheld a continued promise from the city and nation to honor the lives lost and affected by the tragedy.
“As we pass this legislation, I know the memories of those who died will live on in our hearts,” Demings said. “They will not be defined by their tragic deaths through gun violence, but by the lives they lived, the people they touched and the love they gave.”
Fellow co-sponsor Rep. Stephanie Murphy, D-Winter Park, said the memorial would serve as a welcoming “place of healing” and reflect “the same love, acceptance, and spirit of community” of the victims and the entire LGBTQ community.
“By taking this important step, America is telling the world that we will never let hate win, that we won’t forget the victims and that we will fight to ensure no community will ever go through something like this again,” Murphy said.
The memorial’s national designation does not incorporate it into the National Park system, nor does it allow the monument to receive federal funds.
The nonprofit onePULSE Foundation is planning to build the National Pulse Memorial & Museum in Orlando. The first stage of the memorial, a Survivors Walk, will span over half a mile from the former site of the club on South Orange Avenue to Orlando Regional Medical Center, where the wounded were carried the night of the shooting. At last report, construction on the Survivors Walk is expected to begin this year.
A temporary memorial stands on the grounds of the former nightclub and draws international visitors paying their respects to the survivors and fallen.
In a statement issued by onePULSE Foundation’s communications officer Scott Bowman Wednesday evening, the foundation thanked Central Florida’s representatives for championing the legislation.
“We thank Representatives Soto, Demings and Murphy for their continued leadership and introducing the bill,” he wrote.
In a tweet following the bill’s passage, Soto praised the legislation’s progress and thanked Demings and Murphy for their support.
“We are a step closer to nationally remembering the 49 angels lost and 53 injured during this heinous act of terrorism,” he wrote.
Murphy tweeted she was excited about the bill’s progress and the opportunity to honor the lives lost in the tragedy on a national scale.
“Designating #Pulse as a National Memorial site is about more than building a monument to mourn those we lost,” she wrote. “It will be a physical reminder that our work won’t be complete until we ensure the lives of the victims were not lost in vain. … The #Pulse National Memorial will be a place where we renew our pledge to honor their memories, not just with words, but with resolute action.”
krice@orlandosentinel.com
