Governor corrects Pulse proclamation
LGBTQ community referenced in updated version
TALLAHASSEE – When Gov. Ron DeSantis released a proclamation late Tuesday ordering flags to be flown at half-staff to commemorate the third anniversary of the Pulse nightclub massacre, in which 49 mostly gay and Hispanic people were killed, he didn’t mention the LGBTQ or Hispanic communities.
The LGBTQ community and advocates noticed and called him out on it, including Rep. Anna Eskamani, whose Orlando district includes Pulse.
Desanits posted a tweet Wednesday morning including a reference to the LGBTQ and Hispanic victims, and his office released a “corrected proclamation” later in the afternoon blaming a staff member for the omission.
But the initial document still rankled advocates.
Eskamani noted a similar proclamation from DeSantis’ predecessor, Rick Scott, did include an LGBTQ mention.
“(Governor Ron DeSantis) has stripped any mention of the #LGBTQ community in remembering #Pulse,” Eskamani wrote. “This is completely straightwashed and an insult to (House District 47). Based on these … proclamations, Governor Rick Scott was a better friend to LGBTQ Floridians than DeSantis.”
The initial proclamation from DeSantis states that “the entire state of Florida has come together to stand boldly with Orlando and the Central Florida community against terrorism” but makes no specific reference to the Hispanic or LGBTQ communities, which comprised the vast majority of victims.
DeSantis’ second try at the proclamation states that Florida “will not tolerate hatred towards the LGBTQ and Hispanic communities.”
DeSantis also posted a new message Wednesday on Twitter remembering the tragedy and honoring LGBTQ people.
“Today we mourn the loss of life of 49 innocent victims of an ISISinspired terrorist attack at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando that targeted the LGBTQ and Hispanic community, and Florida as a whole,” DeSantis wrote. “In honor of their memory, I am ordering flags to be lowered to half-staff.”
Eskamani thinks that’s a good start, but not enough. She wants an apology from DeSantis as well.
“Advocacy matters. No doubt Governor Ron DeSantis saw the blow back on social media for erasing LGBTQ people and is now doing damage control,” Eskamani said in a statement.
“An apology is warranted for the original Pulse proclamation and though I appreciate the recognition of LGBTQ people through a tweet, I demand now more than ever that he offer LGBTQ protections to state workers and push the legislature to pass the Competitive Workforce Act,” she wrote. “We honor those who are no longer with us through action, and I hope the Governor now realizes that.”