Today is a hard day for our community in Orlando.

June 12, 2016, should have been a day of love and acceptance spent in bliss. It was Latin night at Pulse nightclub, and the LGBTQ+ community in Orlando was celebrating Pride Month by joyfully gathering in a safe space. 

What should have been a joyous occasion turned into a devastating nightmare. That night, Orlando witnessed the deadliest attack against the LGBTQ+ community in U.S. history. We lost 49 people in a mass shooting – and I am still mourning each of them on the sixth anniversary of this tragedy. 

Today, I pray for the parents who will never get to hug their children again, the survivors who can still hear the gunshots like the tragedy is striking once more, and the LGBTQ+ people who were robbed of their sense of safety in their own hometown. But I also know that thoughts and prayers mean NOTHING without action.

I vow to honor the lives we lost – and the loved ones left behind – by working for a future in which we have banned the kind of assault weapons that took 49 lives that day, a future where LGBTQ+ people feel safe walking down the street and a future where we end white supremacist gun violence.

I know that this anniversary may feel particularly heavy this year as we mourn those lost in the Uvalde and Buffalo mass shootings. Let me promise you now: The fight for our lives is far from over. I am doing everything in my power to protect our communities from gun violence – and with perseverance, I know we can pass commonsense gun safety laws in this country.

To the survivors of Pulse and the families of those murdered, I want you to know: I see your pain, and I am with you. I will go to the ends of the Earth to ensure that no other family has to feel the pain that you feel today. 

With love and support,

Congresswoman Val Demings