‘It’s my Florida too’: Pulse shootg survivor Brandon Wolf on beg Black, gay and the anti-Ron DeSantis | US news | The Guardian

Contents:

• AT LEAST 50 DEAD ORLANDO GAY CLUB SHOOTG, SPECT PLEDGED ALLEGIANCE TO ISIS, OFFICIALS SAY
• ORLANDO NIGHTCLUB SHOOTG: MASS CASUALTI AFTER GUNMAN OPENS FIRE GAY CLUB
• ORLANDO GAY NIGHTCLUB SHOOTG: 50 KILLED, SPECT IS OMAR MATEEN
• FLORIDA PULSE GAY CLUB ATTACKED ORLANDO - AT LEAST 20 AD
• GUNMAN KILLED 5 AT COLORADO SPRGS GAY CLUB BEFORE BEG SUBDUED BY PATRONS, POLICE SAY
• ‘IT’S MY FLORIDA TOO’: PULSE SHOOTG SURVIVOR BRANDON WOLF ON BEG BLACK, GAY AND THE ANTI-RON DESANTIS
• 50 AD, ISLAMIC TERRORISM TIE EYED ORLANDO GAY BAR SHOOTG
• ISIS CLAIMS RPONSIBILY FOR ATTACK AT ORLANDO GAY CLUB, THE DEADLIT MASS SHOOTG U.S. HISTORY
• MASS SHOOTG AT ORLANDO GAY CLUB: THE LATT

AT LEAST 50 DEAD ORLANDO GAY CLUB SHOOTG, SPECT PLEDGED ALLEGIANCE TO ISIS, OFFICIALS SAY

— -- The massacre at an Orlando gay nightclub early this morng has been scribed as a "domtic terror cint, " wh at least 50 ad and 53 jured, officials said, makg the worst mass shootg U. Orlando police tweeted, "The shooter si the nightclub is ad, " referrg to Pulse Nightclub, which bills self on s webse as "Orlando's Premier Gay Night Club.

"It's no cince the attack took place where did and when did, " he said reference to the fact that Pulse was a gay nightclub.

At least 50 people were killed and more than 50 others were wound when a gunman opened fire and took hostag at a gay nightclub Orlando, Florida, early Sunday shooter, intified by several law enforcement sourc as Omar Mateen, 29, was killed a shootout wh law enforcement after a three-hour massacre — the worst mass shootg the history of the Uned Stat — began when the gunman stormed the Pulse Nightclub about 2 a. ""This is an pecially heartbreakg day for our iends fellow Amerins who are lbian, gay, bisexual or transgenr, " Obama said, llg the attack "an act of terror and an act of hate. The shootg Sce s openg 2004, Orlando’s Pulse dance club had tablished self as one of central Florida’s most vibrant centr for lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, and queer (LGBTQ) social life.

ORLANDO NIGHTCLUB SHOOTG: MASS CASUALTI AFTER GUNMAN OPENS FIRE GAY CLUB

NEW YORK -- The gay, lbian and transgenr muny has seen vlence before, om Harvey Milk to Matthew Shepard, and an ever-lengtheng list of transgenr women.

Sunday's massacre at a gay nightclub Orlando, Florida, grimly changed the equatn, stirrg munal fears and swiftly promptg tighter secury at gay pri events. This "is a tragic illtratn of the legimate safety fears that those our LGBT muny live wh every day, " said Mike Rawlg, the mayor of Dallas, where extra police were assigned to a neighborhood that is a hub of the lol gay muny. In a separate cint Sunday, a heavily armed man was arrted Southern California even as Mateen's attack was ongog, tellg police he was on his way to attack a gay pri Jam Wley, of Indiana, had asslt rifl, ammunn and chemils that uld be ed to make an explosive, acrdg to police, who said there was no evince of a nnectn to the Orlando massacre.

Before Sunday, the most proment cints of vlence agast gays claimed one life at a time. The hight profile of the clud the murr of Milk, a pneerg gay polician San Francis 1978, and the 1998 murr of Shepard, a gay llege stunt Wyomg at the hands of two men who beat him to a a while he was tied to a fence.

ORLANDO GAY NIGHTCLUB SHOOTG: 50 KILLED, SPECT IS OMAR MATEEN

"There have been a few prev attacks on gay nightclubs, but only one that ed a signifint number of aths. 31, 2013, about 750 people were celebratg New Year's Eve at Neighbours, a popular gay nightclub Seattle, when Mab Masmari poured gasole on a rpeted stairway and set ablaze. Robert Matenc, who works as a host at Neighbours, said the club rpond to the arson attack by addg extra secury guards durg large special events, and trag employe crowd 's attack stck a place that has long been thought of as a safe haven for the muny -- the gay nightclub.

"Nightclubs have always been sacred spac for queer people, plac to gather and glter away om the judgg glar of society, where we uld love and be loved for who we are and how we want to be, " wrote Pl Rshenbh, a clergyman and popular gay wrer, exprsg his heartbreak a lengthy, emotnal post on Facebook which he relled gog out dancg while at semary New many ci, vigils were planned at LGBT muny centers and other gatherg spots to memorate the victims New York Cy, LGBT people and their alli nverged on the Stonewall Inn Greenwich Village spontaneo reactn to the shootg. The Manhattan bar beme a natnal symbol of gay rights after a 1969 police raid led to vlent street ont of the red brick faça, Cameron Cano stood proudly wh a rabow flag draped over her shoulrs. Stonewall is "where we go when thgs like this happen, " said Andy Humm, host of the "Gay USA" TV gay bars add secury measur, or nsired dog so the aftermath of the Orlando attack.

FLORIDA PULSE GAY CLUB ATTACKED ORLANDO - AT LEAST 20 AD

"We have a lot of nightclubs that are gay nightclubs, " Evans said. "At eagleBOLT, a gay bar Mneapolis, patrons watched big-screen TVs silence as Print Barack Obama nounced the Orlando shootg as an "act of terror.

Pl, Mnota, said he to gay bars to relax. An Amerin-born man who’d pledged allegiance to ISIS gunned down 49 people early Sunday at a gay nightclub Orlando, the adlit mass shootg the Uned Stat and the natn’s worst terror attack sce 9/11, thori said.

GUNMAN KILLED 5 AT COLORADO SPRGS GAY CLUB BEFORE BEG SUBDUED BY PATRONS, POLICE SAY

While the vlence uld have h any Amerin muny, “This is an pecially heartbreakg day for our iends who are lbian, gay, bisexual or transgenr, ” he said. A msage posted Arabic on a dark web se associated wh the ISIS news agency Amaq said “the armed attack that targeted a gay night club the cy of Orlando the Amerin state of Florida and that bore more than a 100 killed and wound was rried out by an Islamic state fighter. She said the language is nsistent wh prev ISIS announcements and that the Arabic word for gay was ed rather than an ephet normally ed by ISIS.

Pulse scrib self as “the hottt gay bar” the heart of Orlando. Media ptn, Eyewns Anthony Torr fled the scene and filmed as he watched people shootg "back and forth"Fifty people are now known to have died a shootg a gay nightclub Orlando, Florida, the cy's mayor Buddy Dyer has gunman, named by officials as Omar Mateen, was killed after takg hostag at the Pulse club.

However, US Congrsman Alan Grayson said was "no cince" the attack happened a gay club. "It may be we've seen the missn of an awful hate crime, " he source, CBS NewsImage ptn, US media have published a picture of the spect, Omar MateenImage source, Omar MateenImage ptn, Mateen's father said his motiv had nothg to do wh relignMateen's father Mir Seddique told NBC News that the cint had nothg to do wh relign, and may have been triggered by the sight of a gay uple kissg NBC News reported that Mateen lled the emergency servic before the attack and swore allegiance to the so-lled Islamic State (IS) ant group later said - via s affiliated Amaq news agency - that an IS "fighter" had rried out the claim did not specify whether IS was directly volved or simply takg cred for spirg the attack.

‘IT’S MY FLORIDA TOO’: PULSE SHOOTG SURVIVOR BRANDON WOLF ON BEG BLACK, GAY AND THE ANTI-RON DESANTIS

A gay pri para has also been takg place Wt Hollywood, Los Angel. The cy's mayor said police the nearby cy of Santa Moni had arrted a heavily armed man who said he was gog to the US mass shootgs last 25 yearsAt least 50 ad, 2016 - Omar Mateen opens fire on revellers at gay club Orlando, Florida32 ad, 2007 - Stunt Sng-Hui Cho massacr stunts at Virgia Tech universy before killg himself27 ad, 2012 - Adam Lanza kills 20 six- and seven-year-old children and six adults before killg himself at Sandy Hook, Connecticut23 ad, 1991 - Gee Hennard driv through the wall of a fe Killeen, Texas, before openg fire and mtg suici14 ad, 2015 - Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik open fire at a staff gatherg San Bernardo13 ad, 2009 - Maj Nidal Malik Hasan opens fire at army base Fort Hood, Texas13 ad, 2009 - Jiverly Wong shoots people at New York immigrant centre before killg himself13 ad, 1999 - Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold kill fellow stunts and a teacher at Columbe High School Ltleton, ColoradoOrlando Police Chief John Ma said the attack began at 02:00 (06:00 GMT). Media ptn, Eyewns Anthony Torr fled the scene and filmed as he watched people shootg "back and forth"At least 20 people have been killed and some 42 jured a shootg at a gay nightclub Orlando, Florida, police say.

"Some of the jured were reportedly brought to the Orlando Regnal Medil Center police source, APImage ptn, SWAT officers were at the scene of the shootgImage source, Orlando PoliceMore than 100 people were reported to have been enjoyg the end of a Lat-themed night the club, which lls self the hottt gay bar the cy, when the attack began. A 22-year-old gunman opened fire wh a semitomatic rifle si a gay nightclub Colorado Sprgs, killg five people and leavg 25 jured before he was subdued by "heroic" patrons and arrted by police who arrived wh mut, thori said spect the Saturday night shootg at Club Q ed an AR-15-style semitomatic weapon, a law enforcement official said. Suthers said there was "reason to hope" that all of those hospalized would shootg rekdled memori of the 2016 massacre at the Pulse gay nightclub Orlando, Florida, that killed 49 people.

He said patrons who tervened durg the attack were "heroic" and owed a bt of gratu for preventg more Q is a gay and lbian nightclub that featur a drag show on Saturdays, acrdg to s webse.

50 AD, ISLAMIC TERRORISM TIE EYED ORLANDO GAY BAR SHOOTG

Jared Polis, who beme the first openly gay man the Uned Stat to be elected ernor 2018, lled the shootg "sickeng.

ISIS CLAIMS RPONSIBILY FOR ATTACK AT ORLANDO GAY CLUB, THE DEADLIT MASS SHOOTG U.S. HISTORY

Experts warned that extremist groups uld see anti-gay rhetoric as a ll to prev month, a fundamentalist Idaho pastor told his small Boise ngregatn that gay, lbian and transgenr people should be executed by the ernment, which led up wh siar sermons om a Texas fundamentalist 2006, there have been 523 mass killgs and 2, 727 aths as of Nov. ”Wolf had sought refuge Florida 15 years ago when he was done wh ral Oregon, the childhood home where he suffered embedd racism and homophobia on a daily basis. Among his motivatns for wrg the book was to reclaim tersectnaly om DeSantis and others on the right who seek to hijack explas: “I wanted to give a human flavour to what tersectnaly actually looks and feels like and what feels like to experience racism and homophobia at the same time.

Growg up a nservative majory whe town was difficult bee the same kid who would ll me the N-word on one day would ll me a homophobic slur on another day and I was nstantly navigatg the tersectns of those two thgs. Last month DeSantis’s mpaign released an anti-LGBTQ+ vio assailg Tmp for his past support of gay and transgenr ments: “It is a sry time to be not jt LGBTQ but LGBTQ and Black this state and ultimately that’s the tent. Image source, APThe worst mass shootg morn Amerin history was also a hate crime agast the gay muny.

It's not the first time LGBT (lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr) people have been the targets of vlence.

MASS SHOOTG AT ORLANDO GAY CLUB: THE LATT

"This is an pecially heartbreakg day for all our iends - our fellow Amerins - who are lbian, gay, bisexual or transgenr, " he said an addrs to the natn.

"The Orlando attack is a paful remr that even though the US has ma historic stris broang the rights of s LGBT cizens - like the legalisatn of gay marriage June 2015 - the stggle up until this pot has been a difficult and sometim vlent one. Image source, RtersImage ptn, A year ago the Whe Hoe was l up rabow lours to mark the Supreme Court's lg on gay marriageSeattle's openly gay mayor Ed Murray says the stggle for equal rights has ually seen moments of progrs followed by a vlent reactn.

Nicholas Syrett, -chair of the Commtee on LGBT History and a profsor at the Universy of Northern Colorado, said more openns me wh a st:"Those who still rema transigent their hostily and opposn to gay people, they're gog to be exposed to more of them bee we are creasgly able to be open. " Image source, AFP/Getty ImagImage ptn, Protters mand change after the murr of Matthew Shepard, a young gay man, 1998Until the shootg Orlando, the largt mass ath at a gay club was the arson attack at the UpStairs Lounge New Orleans, Louisiana, 1973.