[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 Lewis and our 
colleagues to show the American people that we do in fact care and hear 
their demands for action--not just in response to the mass shooting at 
Pulse, but for the gun violence that forever changes lives every single 
day. Over 120 Americans die every single day due to gun violence.
  Empty thoughts and prayers will never be enough to end gun violence.
  We need true action: Background checks. Red flag laws. Assault 
weapons ban. Accountability for the gun industry with too much blood on 
its hands.
  We also need to disarm hate. Ten years ago on June 12, the LGBTQ+ and 
Latino community in Orlando were dancing and celebrating Pride. Pride 
in who they are. Pride in who they love. So many lives changed forever 
that night because someone was armed with a semi-automatic rifle.
  No one should live in fear of being shot for celebrating such a 
beautiful thing as Pride. We all deserve to live safely and happily as 
we are.

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