June 12 is always a hard day for my community, for Orlando. Five years ago – on what should have been an ordinary night marked by diversity, inclusion and pride in a safe and cherished space – 49 beautiful souls were murdered at the Pulse Nightclub in my Congressional district. 

The Pulse 49 should be with us today. An overwhelming majority of the innocent lives lost were Latino Floridians. The night of June 12, 2016, should be remembered for music and friendship. For coming together and not having to worry about who they loved or who they are. 

Instead, we remember today for what it truly was: the deadliest incident of violence against LGBTQ+ people in U.S. history. It was soul-wrenching for those of us in Orlando. Dozens of parents would never again hug their children. Friends made phone calls or sent texts that would never be answered. 

Senseless violence ravaged our community that day, and we continue to mourn and pray for the souls gone too soon. Amid the tragedy, however, something else happened in Orlando. Our community came together. We refused to let violence and hate rip us apart. A big part of that has meant remembering those 49 lives lost: saying their names, telling their stories, lifting up their memories. And I'm proud the Senate just passed the bill I worked on with Rep. Stephanie Murphy and Rep. Darren Soto to make Pulse a national memorial. 

But to truly honor the lives of those lost at Pulse – as well as their families and survivors – it's not enough to simply remember them. In their memories, we need to find motivation. And with that motivation, we must keep fighting for change.

Fight for a future where you can go to a club or concert or school or simply walk down the street and not fear being shot and killed. Fight for a future where you can't be fired from work or denied housing simply because you're LGBTQ+. Fight for a future free of systemic racism, free of discrimination – a future of true equality.

We're in the midst of Pride Month, a movement born out of people who weren't afraid to fight. We've come a long way since the Stonewall Riots, all because transgender women and women of color decided enough was enough and made their voices heard. But we have a long way to go on the road to equality. My commitment to you is to keep fighting for it.

Part of that means calling out poor leadership when you see it. For Ron DeSantis to veto funding for counseling services for survivors of Pulse is not just wrong, it's sickening. Shame on him. But right-wing so-called leaders like DeSantis won't change. With every senseless act of gun violence, they'll resolve closer to inaction – cowardly in their fealty to the gun lobby. We've seen that as Marco Rubio and Senate Republicans let a bipartisan, widely supported background check expansion go without a vote while the GOP maintained Senate control. 

To the survivors of Pulse and the families of those murdered: I promise you I will keep fighting to ensure the gun safety reform we urgently need becomes a reality. We are with you. We support you. We will never forget you. 

Congresswoman Val Demings