Over five years ago a tragedy in a LGBTQ+ nightclub gave the Orlando and the World brought to light many needs of overlooked communities. It sparked conversations of Gun Control, Terrorism, LGBTQ+ Resources, Mental Health and Public safety.
I am personally not part of the LGBTQ+ Community, but I show my support and have friends that are parts of the community in various ways. I volunteer for the greater Orlando community and among those for the LGBTQ friendly organizations.
I personally was going to attend that night of June 12, 2016; the theme for the night was a Latin Night and was going to attend with some friends of mine. Earlier that night my friends and I had to change our plans of attending and planned on going to a future event (I had been working full time at the time and so were my friends).
I remember hearing about the shooting through snippets of social media posts, and friends in my community asking if I or anyone I knew was there during the panic.
It really set in once the local, national and international news started reporting about it. While I had no close friends that were directly effected by the shooting, I had worked with in some way some of the victims of the tragic shooting ( I was working at the theme parks in various ways at the time).
When the initial panic subsided, there was an announcement of a candle light vigil that was announced to be in Downtown Orlando at Lake Eola. I don’t quite remember how many there were, I think the public had at least 6 of them and I was able to attend at least one of them. If I remember correctly it was one of the very first ones that was held.
I was very scared myself, thinking what if there was someone else that was going to try the same thing again during the vigil. I decided to go with my DSLR Camera (I’m a photographer and writer by nature and this is one way that I was coping, to this day I still am).
There was a local business that was allowing the public to go inside and make signs in support of the community which was greatly appreciated. At some point in the night I had put the sign I had created in the group with the others, signing my message of support of the community.
Like I said, I’m not part of the LGBTQ+, but I’m an A11y for all people especially my friends.
That night one of the people mourning the loss of their son had saw me talk to other people and saw my A11y t-shirt. To this day I will never forget what she had said to me: “I know I can’t hug my son right now, but do you mind if I give you a hug?” I told her: “I don’t mind, I actually would like a hug as well”. We embraced each other for what seemed like an eternity, at that moment we cherished that small moment of peace we found in each other’s embrace. It was brief but to each other we knew it meant much more than just a hug. For her it was a hug from the beyond, from a stranger in the community that was no longer a stranger to her no more, it was someone else that believed that there was more in the community than fear and despair.
After the hug I told her: “I may not have known your son, but I hope you know you’re not alone.” She said: “thank you” as she disappeared into the crowd. I don’t know if she is able to see this but I want to tell her and you that you are not alone as well.
Pulse to this day teaches us to keep going, that the community is here to support each other and that even though things may seem dark and bleak, there’s a rainbow peaking just around the corner.
Stanley Almodovar III, 23 years old
Amanda Alvear, 25 years old
Oscar A Aracena-Montero, 26 years old
Rodolfo Ayala-Ayala, 33 years old
Antonio Davon Brown, 29 years old
Darryl Roman Burt II, 29 years old
Angel L. Candelario-Padro, 28 years old
Juan Chavez Martinez, 25 years old
Luis Daniel Conde, 39 years old
Cory James Connell, 21 years old
Tevin Eugene Crosby, 25 years old
Deonka Deidra Drayton, 32 years old
Simon Adrian Carrillo Fernandez, 31 years old
Leroy Valentin Fernandez, 25 years old
Mercedez Marisol Flores, 26 years old
Peter O. Gonzalez-Cruz, 22 years old
Juan Ramon Guerrero, 22 years old
Paul Terrell Henry, 41 years old
Frank Hernandez, 27 years old
Miguel Angel Honorato, 30 years old
Javier Jorge-Reyes, 40 years old
Jason Benjamin Josaphat, 19 years old
Eddie Jamoldroy Justice, 30 years old
Anthony Luis Laureano Disla, 25 years old
Christopher “Drew” Andrew Leinonen, 32 years old
Alejandro Barrios Martinez, 21 years old
Brenda Lee Marquez McCool, 49 years old
Gilberto Ramon Silva Menendez, 25 years old
KJ Morris, 37 years old
Akyra Monet Murray, 18 years old
Luis Omar Ocasio-Capo, 20 years old
Geraldo A. Ortiz-Jimenez, 25 years old
Eric Ivan Ortiz-Rivera, 36 years old
Joel Rayon Paniagua, 32 years old
Jean Carlos Mendez Perez, 35 years old
Enrique L. Rios, Jr., 25 years old
Jean C. Nives Rodriguez, 27 years old
Xavier Emmanuel Serrano Rosado, 35 years old
Christopher Joseph Sanfeliz, 24 years old
Yilmary Rodriguez Solivan, 24 years old
Edward Sotomayor Jr., 34 years old
Shane Evan Tomlinson, 33 years old
Martin Benitez Torres, 33 years old
Jonathan Antonio Camuy Vega, 24 years old
Juan P. Rivera Velazquez, 37 years old
Luis S. Vielma, 22 years old
Franky Jimmy Dejesus Velazquez, 50 years old
Luis Daniel Lestat Wilson-Leon, 37 years old
Jerald “Jerry” Arthur Wright, 31 years old
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