[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 7]
[House]
[Page 9033]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  PULSE NIGHTCLUB SHOOTING ANNIVERSARY

  (Mr. DEUTCH asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. DEUTCH. Mr. Speaker, ``There will never be an end.'' That is how 
Emily Addison described the love and the loss she feels for her partner 
and the mother of her son, Deonka Drayton.
  Deonka was one of 49 victims killed at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando 1 
year ago today. She was one of hundreds who had gone to Pulse that 
night as a place of celebration, a place of joy, and a place of pride.
  We mark 1 year since the worst mass shooting in our history, an act 
of terror against the LGBT community, and we mark this somber event 
today during Pride Month.
  This day creates enormous tension for the LGBT community and its 
allies. Our hearts are broken for the victims and for their families.
  We are angry, we are frustrated, yet we are still filled with pride. 
We are proud of the lives they lived, though they were cut far too 
short.
  Today, I stand with the LGBT community. And together, we stand 
against hatred, we stand against terror, and we stand for love and for 
pride, pride that has no end.

                          ____________________