Disarm Hate

As a longtime downtown Orlando resident, I was heartbroken when 49 people were killed in a senseless act of gun violence at the Pulse nightclub three years ago this month. As I watched the news that morning and waited for my friends to check in as safe on Facebook, I was overcome by a feeling of hopelessness. How could a person filled with hate cause such destruction in a place that had always been a safe space for Orlando’s beloved LGBTQ+ and Latinx communities? I drove around in an aimless fog with my then 2-year-old, and I knew I had to do more to help end gun violence.

Three years later, I am now an active volunteer in a gun violence prevention group. I have been honored to meet people whose lives were forever changed by surviving the shooting at Pulse or losing loved ones there. I never want another person to feel the trauma they will carry forever. There is an easy way we can act now. We have the opportunity as citizens to propose an amendment to the state constitution that would ban assault weapons like the one used at Pulse in 2016. I urge everyone to download and sign the Ban Assault Weapons Now petition so we can let voters decide this issue in the 2020 election. We don’t need weapons of war in our communities. Let’s disarm hate.