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Biden to name Pulse Nightclub a national memorial

Nightclub Shooting Florida
Posted at 5:53 AM, Jun 12, 2021
and last updated 2021-06-12 15:22:18-04

ORLANDO, FL — President Joe Biden says on the fifth anniversary of a mass shooting at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando that he will sign a bill naming the site as a national memorial.

The deadliest attack on the LGBTQ community in U.S. history left 49 people dead and 53 people wounded as “Latin Night” was being celebrated at the club.

Biden says in a statement that he has “stayed in touch with families of the victims and with the survivors who have turned their pain into purpose” and described the club as “hallowed ground.”

The victims who were massacred at the nightclub are being honored this week with a community run, a museum exhibit, a mass yoga session, a gay chorus performance and a street dance party.

The remembrances culminate with a ceremony Saturday on the fifth anniversary of the tragedy.

Dozens of survivors of the shooting, family members of those who died and first responders were invited to the ceremony on the grounds of the Pulse nightclub.

The club located south of downtown Orlando has been turned into an interim memorial lined with photos of the victims and rainbow-colored flowers.