Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material in the Record. Mr. Speaker, it has been…
Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material in the Record.
Mr. Speaker, it has been nearly 10 years ago this Friday that our happy little town of Orlando was forever changed.
I remember getting text messages at 4 a.m., 5 a.m. on June 12, 2016, and wondering what people could possibly be reaching out to me about that early in the morning. I received 10, 12, 15 different texts and calls. I remember waking up around 4:30 a.m. and realizing that our world had changed, that our happy little town of Orlando was the site of the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history at that time.
It was at the Pulse Nightclub, an LGBTQ nightclub, one that allies and the LGBTQ community alike got to attend. It was a safe place. It was Latin night, and what we saw was a domestic terrorist kill 49 angels who were just trying to have a good time and hang out with their friends that night and enjoy fellowship. Fifty-three other central Floridians were injured during that mass shooting.
We also saw law enforcement and firefighters step up to help. We know so many EMTs, doctors, and nurses helped those who were injured and saved their lives. We know that, to this day, it has left a scar, one that we will always remember, along with the families who lost loved ones, along with friends who lost loved ones, and along with our community who lost our fellow neighbors.
That next day, I remember going to the blood bank on John Young because the one in downtown Orlando had so many people going to it that the line went around the block and down several blocks.
People came out with different snacks and drinks and food to make sure that those who were in line to donate blood were able to stay there all day. I was at the blood bank off of John Young in our district, and I remember helping organize the lines.
Everybody wanted to do something, even as we felt helpless. We all just wanted to do something that might help out a little bit during that tragedy.
The very next night in front of our art center, we saw a makeshift memorial begin to take shape with flowers, posters, and people congregating. Over those next 2 days, it became the site of a massive vigil, and people started coming in from across the Nation where memorials and well wishes, cards, and condolences were sent from areas across both the Nation and the world.
We each had artists come in to help express what had hurt us so much in that community, and then we had our final vigil a week later in Lake Eola. I had never seen that many people in downtown.
We know it was unnecessary and deadly gun violence. We know it was an attack on the LGBTQ+ community. We know it was an attack on Latin night during Pride Month.
Over the years, we have tried to memorialize both what happened, so we will never forget those we lost, but also to talk about how our community responded and came together during this tragic time.
I was proud to introduce, in June 2019, 3 years later, the first National
Pulse Memorial resolution. That very next year, in the 116th Congress, we were able to pass H.R. 3094 out of the House to make it the National Pulse Memorial, because literally every State across the Nation mourned and had vigils from what had transpired on June 12, 2016.
Unfortunately, during that term, it didn't pass. However, the very next term, during the 117th Congress, we filed it again, introduced as H.R. 49, to designate the National Pulse Memorial. Just a few months later, in May 2021, almost 5 years after the attack, it passed the House. Eventually, we had Senator Scott sponsor it in the Senate, and President Joe Biden signed it into law in June 2021.
In December, 2 years later, the city acquired the land where the Pulse nightclub sat. We have been through a long process to help make sure we could hear from families, hear from friends, and hear from our community. Although that was a difficult process, it was one that I want to applaud the city for helping lead to get to a final plan, which we are in the process of putting together, for a final National Pulse Memorial. In March of this year, the building was torn down to create this space, a memorial honoring the 49 lives lost. The permanent memorial, I am proud to say, is now about 60 percent complete.
When we were before the Natural Resources Committee, talking about why this needed to be a national memorial, I was able to point out that we saw vigils in every State, including the States of all the Members of the Natural Resources Committee who were on that panel. Some of our colleagues that I remember on the panel were from Utah, New York, and other States. It was an amazing moment to show how, in just about every major city across America, we saw folks standing in solidarity.
So, today, it is with a heavy heart and with a sad remembrance that we mark the approaching 10th anniversary.
Mr. Speaker, I am joined here tonight by a dear friend, a neighbor, a young man who had just graduated from high school a little before the attack. He went to school in our district, we are proud to say. From an early age, he took on the issue of gun violence, served as a student representative on our school board in Osceola County, and has continued to play a big role ever since in gun safety.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Frost).
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
