Public funding grows for memorial to Pulse shooting victims

A proposal to construct a memorial to the Pulse shooting victims secured some significant funding from Orange County, Florida, commissioners on Wednesday.

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The Orange County Commission voted unanimously to contribute $5 million to an effort by the City of Orlando to honor those killed in the 2016 massacre. Orlando officials earlier this year released their plans for a reflecting pool and 49 canopy columns at the site of the gay nightclub, where a shooter pledging allegiance to ISIS killed 49 mostly Latino and LGBTQ victims.

Related: Vision for long-delayed memorial to Pulse victims finally comes into view

“None of us thought that it would take nine years to get to this point and we can’t go back and relitigate all of the failures along the way that have happened, but what we can do is control how we move forward together,” said Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings, according to the Orlando Sentinel.

Demings served as Orange County Sheriff in 2016 and was on site on June 12 and 13 during the hours-long standoff with a shooter, who was killed by law enforcement at the scene. He was also one of the public officials to scrutinize the activities of the onePulse Foundation, which was dissolved in 2023 after announcing it would abandon plans for a museum at the site of the club.

Orlando City Commissioner Patty Sheehan spoke to Orange County Commissioners on Wednesday about the need for closure and for a memorial for the community of survivors and loved ones impacted by the tragedy.

“You have an opportunity to be part of the healing,” Sheehan said, as reported by the Sentinel. “This didn’t just impact the gay community. There were members of the LatinX community, the African-American community, there were straight allies who were murdered that day. It’s important for us to remember all those beautiful people who simply wanted to dance.”

The decision from Orange County came as the Florida Legislature haggles over its budget for the year. Both the Florida House and Senate also plan to contribute to the memorial, but have not decided the amount. According to Florida Politics, the Florida Senate has most recently called to contribute $394,000 toward the project, but the Florida House wants to only commit $197,000.

Any state funding would be subject to a potential veto by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.