"Nothing could have prepared me for the horror we saw on June 12, 2016, when a terrorist inspired by ISIS stormed into Pulse and senselessly killed 49 innocent people. This was a horrible terrorist attack and 49 brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, friends and spouses were murdered.Whether you want to call it terrorism or debate the gunman's motives, you have to be pretty obtuse to not only ignore that Pulse was a gay nightclub but also fail to mention the majority of the victims were LGBTQ. This isn't the first time Scott has been called out for doing this. It took him two days after the Pulse attack to finally acknowledge the LGBTQ community on Twitter. Scott did, however, honor first responders at the crime scene during his speech, like Orlando Police Officer Michael Napolitano, a SWAT team member whose Kevlar helmet stopped a bullet from hitting him. Scott also honored OPD Chief John Mina and Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings, who were present for his speech.
The days I spent in Orlando following the shooting will always be with me. I talked to many parents who lost their children. I remember sitting with one mom who recounted her son's last 48 hours on earth and how he died a hero because he was trying to save a friend's life. I met with an injured victim whose TV was turned off in his hospital room. His family needed to wait to tell him that his partner had been killed and did not want him to find out from the news and I went to wakes and funerals to mourn with families as they said their final good-byes. The hardest thing I have ever had to do as Governor is try to find the words to console a parent who lost their child, and I truly cannot imagine the grief of losing a child or a grandchild."
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