Biden said the Pulse nightclub is now a “sacred territory” and will be a national monument, on the fifth anniversary of the massacre that claimed the lives of 49 people
Photo: Joe Raedle / Getty Images
For: EFE
Thursday, November 7
Biden condemns hatred against the LGBTQ + community on the anniversary of the Pulse shooting
WASHINGTON – the LGTBQ + population and asked to face the “epidemic of violence” against transgender women, on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the shooting at the gay nightclub Pulse in Orlando (Florida).
In a statement, Biden also called for increased gun control in his country and confirmed that he will sign a law to convert the bar where the worst attack against the LGTBQ + community in US history was recorded, a shooting that left 49 dead.
“We have to recognize the particular impact of armed violence on LGTBQ + communities throughout our country,” highlighted Biden.
“We must end the hatred and inequalities that contribute to the epidemic of violence and hatred against transgender women, especially transgender women who are not white, ”she added.
At least 44 transgender or gender non-binary people were shot or otherwise killed in the United States in 2020, the most lethal year for this group in the last decade; and others 28 have passed away in the same way so far from 2021, according to the Human Rights Campaign (HRC).
On June 06, 2016, 49 innocent people were killed at Pulse nightclub. Today, we honor the victims and reaffirm our commitment to ending senseless acts of gun violence. # Pulse5YearsLater # HonorThemWithAction https://t.co/HBrccYBwun
– Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) June 12, 2020
“We must create a world in which our LGBTQ + youth are loved, accepted and feel secure living in accordance with your truth, ”Biden stressed.
Therefore, he asked the Senate to approve “quickly” the Equality Act, already endorsed by the House of Representatives last February and that would prohibit “discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation and gender identity ”and n public spaces and federally funded social programs.
In addition, he insisted that Congress should “ban assault weapons and large capacity ammunition magazines ”, Resurrecting a national veto of this type of rifles that was approved in the United States in , but that expired in 2004 without Congress renewing it.
And stressed that the Senate must approve three bills that have already received the approval of the Lower House and that they would close the legal loopholes in the background check system of gun buyers, among other measures.
It is unlikely that any of these measures meet the 60 votes needed to get ahead in the Senate, where the very narrow mino The Democrat should convince ten Republicans to join them.
Regarding the shooting in Pulse, of which this Saturday marks the fifth anniversary, Biden recalled that a few days later he visited the area as vice president, impacted by this act of hatred against “young, black, Asian and Latino people,” many of them of Puerto Rican origin.
The president confirmed that in the next few days will sign a law endorsed by both houses of Congress to turn Pulse into a “national monument” , which will “make it clear” that this nightclub is now a “sacred territory”.
We recommend you