REMEMBERING THE MASS SHOOTING AT THE PULSE NIGHTCLUB

On 2026-06-09, Representative Darren Soto (D-FL-9) delivered a floor speech titled "REMEMBERING THE MASS SHOOTING AT THE PULSE NIGHTCLUB" in the House.

REMEMBERING THE MASS SHOOTING AT THE PULSE NIGHTCLUB

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 97 (Tuesday, June 9, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 97 (Tuesday, June 9, 2026)] [House] [Pages H4044-H4045] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] REMEMBERING THE MASS SHOOTING AT THE PULSE NIGHTCLUB (Under the Speaker's announced policy of January 3, 2025, Mr. Soto of Florida was recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.) General Leave Mr. SOTO. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material in the Record. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Florida? There was no objection. Mr. SOTO. Mr. Speaker, it has been nearly 10 years ago this Friday that our happy little town of Orlando was forever changed. I remember getting text messages at 4 a.m., 5 a.m. on June 12, 2016, and wondering what people could possibly be reaching out to me about that early in the morning. I received 10, 12, 15 different texts and calls. I remember waking up around 4:30 a.m. and realizing that our world had changed, that our happy little town of Orlando was the site of the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history at that time. It was at the Pulse Nightclub, an LGBTQ nightclub, one that allies and the LGBTQ community alike got to attend. It was a safe place. It was Latin night, and what we saw was a domestic terrorist kill 49 angels who were just trying to have a good time and hang out with their friends that night and enjoy fellowship. Fifty-three other central Floridians were injured during that mass shooting. We also saw law enforcement and firefighters step up to help. We know so many EMTs, doctors, and nurses helped those who were injured and saved their lives. We know that, to this day, it has left a scar, one that we will always remember, along with the families who lost loved ones, along with friends who lost loved ones, and along with our community who lost our fellow neighbors. That next day, I remember going to the blood bank on John Young because the one in downtown Orlando had so many people going to it that the line went around the block and down several blocks. People came out with different snacks and drinks and food to make sure that those who were in line to donate blood were able to stay there all day. I was at the blood bank off of John Young in our district, and I remember helping organize the lines. Everybody wanted to do something, even as we felt helpless. We all just wanted to do something that might help out a little bit during that tragedy. The very next night in front of our art center, we saw a makeshift memorial begin to take shape with flowers, posters, and people congregating. Over those next 2 days, it became the site of a massive vigil, and people started coming in from across the Nation where memorials and well wishes, cards, and condolences were sent from areas across both the Nation and the world. {time} 1950 We each had artists come in to help express what had hurt us so much in that community, and then we had our final vigil a week later in Lake Eola. I had never seen that many people in downtown. We know it was unnecessary and deadly gun violence. We know it was an attack on the LGBTQ+ community. We know it was an attack on Latin night during Pride Month. Over the years, we have tried to memorialize both what happened, so we will never forget those we lost, but also to talk about how our community responded and came together during this tragic time. I was proud to introduce, in June 2019, 3 years later, the first National [[Page H4045]] Pulse Memorial resolution. That very next year, in the 116th Congress, we were able to pass H.R. 3094 out of the House to make it the National Pulse Memorial, because literally every State across the Nation mourned and had vigils from what had transpired on June 12, 2016. Unfortunately, during that term, it didn't pass. However, the very next term, during the 117th Congress, we filed it again, introduced as H.R. 49, to designate the National Pulse Memorial. Just a few months later, in May 2021, almost 5 years after the attack, it passed the House. Eventually, we had Senator Scott sponsor it in the Senate, and President Joe Biden signed it into law in June 2021. In December, 2 years later, the city acquired the land where the Pulse nightclub sat. We have been through a long process to help make sure we could hear from families, hear from friends, and hear from our community. Although that was a difficult process, it was one that I want to applaud the city for helping lead to get to a final plan, which we are in the process of putting together, for a final National Pulse Memorial. In March of this year, the building was torn down to create this space, a memorial honoring the 49 lives lost. The permanent memorial, I am proud to say, is now about 60 percent complete. When we were before the Natural Resources Committee, talking about why this needed to be a national memorial, I was able to point out that we saw vigils in every State, including the States of all the Members of the Natural Resources Committee who were on that panel. Some of our colleagues that I remember on the panel were from Utah, New York, and other States. It was an amazing moment to show how, in just about every major city across America, we saw folks standing in solidarity. So, today, it is with a heavy heart and with a sad remembrance that we mark the approaching 10th anniversary. Mr. Speaker, I am joined here tonight by a dear friend, a neighbor, a young man who had just graduated from high school a little before the attack. He went to school in our district, we are proud to say. From an early age, he took on the issue of gun violence, served as a student representative on our school board in Osceola County, and has continued to play a big role ever since in gun safety. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Frost). Mr. FROST. Mr. Speaker, 10 years ago today, in my home district, in Orlando, a man walked into Pulse nightclub, opened fire, and killed 49 innocent angels. The pain from that day still hasn't subsided in our community. I still feel the same despair, anger, and fear that I felt that day, the day this tragedy happened. I remember getting the call. I wasn't home at the time. I knew the area very well because, in high school, I got an internship to be a techie at a music venue in downtown Orlando, so I knew a lot of the people who worked at a lot of the clubs. I was in Fort Myers, working my first campaign, when I got the call that this had happened. I was actually about to perform with the local symphony there for the first time, but I got in my car and drove back home. At the time, Pulse was the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history. Since then, there have been over 4,500 more shootings across this Nation. It is 10 years later, and absolutely nothing has changed. It is still too easy to acquire a gun. Congress has failed to pass commonsense laws, like universal background checks, or to pass an assault weapons ban. If you are outraged by hearing this, you should be. I am outraged that I have spent about the last 15 years of my life fighting for gun violence prevention, and we are still in the same place. I don't want to live in a country or in an America where people can walk into schools, grocery stores, churches, concerts, nightclubs, and immediately look for the nearest exit. I will always remember the first time I had an elementary school come visit me here from my district when I first got into Congress, my first year. I was really excited. I stayed up really late, practicing what questions I would ask them to inspire them to learn more about government. One of the questions I asked was: If you were a Congressperson, what law would you pass? I was excited to hear ice cream for dinner, no homework, and soda in the water fountain. I picked this little girl. I think she was 7 or 8 years old. She told me: I would ban assault weapons so I don't get shot in school. Today, I hold the victims of Pulse and their loved ones in my heart. Pulse was more than just a nightclub. It was a place of joy, community, and belonging for Orlando's LGBTQ+ community. On that night, as people gathered for Latin night, the attack also devastated Orlando's Latino community, as well. We will continue the fight because I do believe that the best way to honor their lives is to honor their lives with action. I remember when I first got involved in this, I always had this sticker on my driver's license that a lot of young people put on their license at this point. It said that if I die due to gun violence, politicize my death to make sure it doesn't happen to anyone else ever again. So, after every shooting, I will always speak out because true justice is more than words. It is ensuring that we do not live in a country where the leading cause of death for a child is a bullet, because that is the reality of the United States of America in 2026. We honor their lives. We don't just remember how they died, but how they lived. We remember the fact that it was a preventable death and that this body has done nothing to ensure it never happens again. There is a lot more work to do. Mr. Speaker, I urge my community in Orlando to continue to speak out and to keep fighting and remembering, and we will do the same. Mr. SOTO. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time. Ms. KELLY of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to remember the 49 lives killed and the 58 people injured in a hateful mass shooting at Pulse Nightclub ten years ago. Today, I stand to speak, but I remember when I sat on this House floor for over 24 hours in protest. Ten days after a shooting that should have shook Congress awake, Republican leadership decided to do nothing to pass gun safety laws. So instead, I led a sit-in with Congressman John 

Referenced legislation: HR49, HR3094