Pulse Survivor & VP Harris Speak Out Against Hate-Fueled Violence
In her speech about hate crimes at the United We Stand Summit, Vice President Kamala Harris invited Pulse Nightclub shooting survivor Brandon Wolf to open as her keynote speaker.The United We Stand summit began on Thursday as an effort by President Joe Biden to counter the devastating effects of hate-related violence.
The summit’s website describes the conference as a “bipartisan conversation on countering hate-fueled violence, preventing mobilization to violence, and fostering unity.”In her statement to the summit covered by the Advocate Channel, Harris was introduced by nationally recognized LGBTQ+ civil rights advocate and anti-gun violence proponent, Brandon Wolf.Wolf is a survivor of the Orlando, Fla., Pulse Nightclub shooting.
He currently works with the LGBTQ+ rights group Equality Florida.On June 12, 2016, 49 people were killed and 53 were injured at Pulse, a gay nightclub, in Orlando during its “Latin Night.” Nearly all of the victims were LGBTQ+ and Latinx.
It was the deadliest attack on queer people in U.S. history.Wolf began his address by acknowledging his fellow survivors, and the courage they’ve shown in years since the massacre.“It takes tremendous courage to get up and face the world every day,” he said. “I will never forget the night that hate-fueled violence turned my life upside down.
