Gov. Scott showed heart after Pulse. Now, LGBTQ community needs him.

I’ll never forget the slow trickle of news early that Sunday morning four years ago, first with notifications on my phone, then breaking news reports, and finally, the gut-punch confirmation that 49 LGBTQ people and allies had been killed on Latin Night at Orlando’s Pulse nightclub.

Joy Metropolitan Community Church, where I am the senior pastor, is only 1.4 miles away from the club. And in the days that followed, I bore witness to the aftershocks of the mass shooting. One of the most wrenching outcomes was the growing certainty for LGBTQ people that we are not safe, that because of who we are, we could be silenced by a flurry of bullets.

It broke my heart that LGBTQ people had received that message. As a gay person myself, it broke my heart to realize I personally had internalized that message.

Even now, LGBTQ people in Florida remain vulnerable. Most fundamentally, we lack protection from discrimination in employment, housing, health care, public spaces and more. We need comprehensive non-discrimination legislation to make Florida a better place for all.

In the days after the massacre, I saw glimmers of hope that state and federal lawmakers would pass such legislation. Some of the most heartwarming indicators came from Rick Scott, who was then Florida’s governor and is now one of our U.S. senators.

The governor’s office reached out to Joy MCC after the shooting, seeking a place to meet with LGBTQ leaders. When Gov. Scott joined us in our sanctuary, I was struck by his kindness and genuine concern. Before he left, we held hands and prayed together. As he headed out, he thanked us for opening the church.

After that, Gov. Scott would call me frequently to check in and ask about the church, the community and me. He attended several of our services. At one, he gave our Joy MCC staff medals emblazoned with the word “unity.” He also asked me to offer a blessing at an event at the Governor’s Mansion. I saw him as an elected official with compassion for people, a person who wanted to make a difference in the world.

While we appreciate the respect Gov. Scott showed, in other ways he fell short. LGBTQ Floridians still lack basic protections from discrimination in housing, employment and public spaces. This means we can be denied a job, a place to live or service at a hospital because of our sexual orientation.

Sen. Scott has a chance to remedy this, not just for Floridians, but for LGBTQ Americans living in 29 states that lack protection from discrimination.

Nothing can change what happened at Pulse, but protections would provide a new kind of security and show Florida to be a welcoming state.

Pulse changed my world. It taught me that my job is to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. It taught me to offer myself as a prayerful presence of healing and hope. It taught me that I am called to be there for my community.

That’s what I do every year on June 12. It’s what I’m trying to do now, in this time of tremendous strife.

I pray Sen. Scott digs deep and does what’s needed to ensure that LGBTQ people are safer and more equal in Florida and beyond. It’s time.