July 23rd, 2016
Hillary Clinton was in Orlando yesterday where she met privately with families and friends of the Pulse gay night club massacre. The meeting occurred just before a larger roundtable meeting with city leaders and representatives from the LGBT and religious communities. According to the Washington Post:
“I’m really here to listen to what your experiences have been,” Clinton said during the meeting.
She noted that the attack on the gay club highlights the dangers that LGBT people in America face, including higher risk for hate crimes.
“We need to acknowledge and be very clear who this attack targeted,” Clinton said. “The Latino LGBT community by any measure was the community that was the most severely impacted by this terrible attack.”
“It is still dangerous to be LGBT in America,” Clinton added. “It is an unfortunate fact but one that needs to be said.”
The Post reported that Patty Sheehan, an Orlando city commissioner who is also a lesbian, thanked Clinton “for not politicizing it and for waiting until we were ready.” According to WESH TV, a mother and a survivor echoed that appreciation:
She never wanted to use me or my son for her political gain,” said Christine Leinonen whose son was killed in the June shooting.
“She just allowed us to tell our story and I thought that was really powerful and impactful,” said Brandon Wolf, a survivor.
During the private meeting, Sheehan warned against blaming the Muslim community for the gunman’s actions:
“Hating a Muslim person is the same as hating a gay person,” Sheehan said, growing emotional. “We cannot allow this country to become a country of hatred and division.”
“We have got to stop this kind of rhetoric. We are better together,” she added.
The Orlando Sentinel reported about the later roundtable meeting with community leaders:
…Clinton pledged to “promote the kinds of changes that will prevent this from happening to other people, other families and other communities.”
“We have to be willing to stand as one and demand changes from lawmakers at the federal, state and local level … We have a lot of work ahead of us,” said Clinton…
(Orlando Mayor Buddy) Dyer, who led the meeting alongside Clinton, said he would not wade into policy but called for unity and inclusiveness.
“We need to better understand how we come together, that we are stronger when we appreciate the similarities that we have and don’t focus on the differences,” Dyer said.
After the roundtable meeting, Clinton made an unannounced visit to an impromptu memorial outside the shuttered night club:
Clinton is at the site of the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, laying flowers, meeting w/ 1st responders pic.twitter.com/WAOcHgbGdY
— Abby D. Phillip (@abbydphillip) July 22, 2016
Clinton speaking to first responders at Pulse nightclub memorial in Orlando. Laid white roses at the memorial. pic.twitter.com/ozmhAClfVW
— Tamara Keith (@tamarakeithNPR) July 22, 2016
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SharonB
July 23rd, 2016
Serious kudos.
This is why I disbelieve all Republican attempts to swiftboat her as a cold unfeeling bitch (no misogyny there). In many unscripted scenarios, and in many scripted ones, she seems to be a vary warm and caring person. And no, I am not just seeing what I want to see. I am just observing.
Spunky
July 23rd, 2016
Thank you, Hillary Clinton.
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