DeSantis Omits LGBTQ, Latino Victims from Pulse Order

DeSantis Scrubs LGBTQ, Latino Victims from Pulse Remembrance Order

By: Paul Goldberg, Senior Editor | JRL CHARTS – LGBT Politics USA

TALLAHASSEE, FL — (June 15, 2025) — Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) has once again ignited outrage across the LGBTQ+ and Latino communities after quietly removing any mention of the groups most devastated by the 2016 Pulse Nightclub massacre from this year’s official state remembrance order.

Issued on June 12 to commemorate Pulse Remembrance Day, DeSantis’ proclamation called the tragedy “a horrific act of terrorism” — but conspicuously omitted the words LGBTQ and Hispanic, erasing the very identities of the 49 victims, most of whom were queer Latinx.

This marks a jarring reversal from previous years, where even DeSantis acknowledged the “LGBTQ and Hispanic communities” in five nearly identical orders. In 2019, backlash forced his office to amend a similar omission after claiming he “wasn’t involved” in its drafting — a statement many now view as political deflection.

Six years later, and despite the rising anti-LGBTQ rhetoric in Florida politics, the silence speaks volumes. No updated statement was issued this time, and multiple requests for comment from DeSantis’ office went unanswered.

As the governor continues to position himself as a culture war figurehead, critics say this omission reflects a growing pattern of institutional erasure of marginalized communities — one that echoes similar tactics from the Trump-era playbook of dismantling diversity and inclusion initiatives.

Pulse Remembrance Day was formally established by former Gov. Rick Scott (R) in 2018, designating June 12 to honor the lives lost in what remains one of the deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history.

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