Today marks the five-year anniversary of the tragic shooting at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, FL that took the lives of 49 mostly Black and Brown LGBTQ people who were out enjoying their night in what they considered a safe space.
As a native Orlandoan, and someone who started going to Pulse when they first opened in 2004, I will never forget the feeling of shock, grief, and anger that coursed through my body when I first saw the news about the horrendous loss of life in a place I once considered a safe space myself.
In the five years since that horrible night there has been lots of introspection and discussion about how we ensure that a tragedy like Pulse never happens to our community again.