Gabby Giffords remembers shooting at Pulse nightclub

WASHINGTON — Former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, founder of national gun violence prevention group GIFFORDS, released the following statement honoring the victims and survivors of the mass shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, on June 12, 2016.

“Pulse was a safe place for the LGBTQ+ community. But eight years ago, that safety was shattered in seconds by a hate-filled man armed with a gun,” said former Congresswoman Giffords. “Forty-nine beautiful lives were stolen that night and many more were forever impacted. In the years since, we’ve seen ongoing threats and violence against the LGBTQ+ community – and no one should ever live in fear of being targeted for who they are or who they love. In the last eight years, Orlando and the LGBTQ+ and Latino communities have continued to heal. I will stand with them to save lives from gun violence and disarm hate.”

GIFFORDS Florida, the organization’s first state-focused program, continues to work with many of the survivors who turned to gun safety advocacy after the shooting.

“I will never forget hearing the news of the mass shooting at Pulse nightclub eight years ago. It was a dark day for the LGBTQ+ community and for our state as we grieved the 49 lives lost,” said GIFFORDS Florida State Director Samantha Barrios. “As Florida legislative leaders strip LGBTQ+ people of critical protections and simultaneously weaken gun laws, we must continue to fight hate and gun violence. I choose to raise my family in our wonderfully diverse state, and I will fight for their safer future today and always.”

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