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

Contents:

• ORLANDO GAY NIGHTCLUB SHOOTG: WHO WAS OMAR MATEEN?
• ‘IT’S MY FLORIDA TOO’: PULSE SHOOTG SURVIVOR BRANDON WOLF ON BEG BLACK, GAY AND THE ANTI-RON DESANTIS
• AT LEAST 50 DEAD ORLANDO GAY CLUB SHOOTG, SPECT PLEDGED ALLEGIANCE TO ISIS, OFFICIALS SAY
• ORLANDO GAY NIGHTCLUB SHOOTG: 50 KILLED, SPECT IS OMAR MATEEN
• ORLANDO NIGHTCLUB SHOOTG: MASS CASUALTI AFTER GUNMAN OPENS FIRE GAY CLUB
• 50 AD, ISLAMIC TERRORISM TIE EYED ORLANDO GAY BAR SHOOTG

ORLANDO GAY NIGHTCLUB SHOOTG: WHO WAS OMAR MATEEN?

But this week, the cy is also memorializg a years ago today, a gunman opened fire Pulse nightclub, a gay club Orlando, killg 49 people and woundg more than 50.

So he equented Pulse, a beloved gay nightclub known for star-studd drag shows and bachata-sountracked “Lat Nights. “What happened at Pulse was … kd of labeled as a gay issue, when realy wasn’t. But before “Pulse” me to mean “one of the adlit mass shootgs US history, one that primarily targeted people of lor at a gay nightclub, ” Pulse was synonymo wh home.

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.

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

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.

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

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. "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.

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

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. "We have a lot of nightclubs that are gay nightclubs, " Evans said.

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

"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. 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.

Media ptn, The BBC's Gordon Corera exam what we know about the attackerOmar Mateen was a US cizen who had been known to the FBI sce opened fire si a gay nightclub Orlando, Florida the early hours of Sunday, killg 49 people the adlit shootg morn US officials say the 29-year-old, who was killed by police, appeared to "have leangs towards" radil Islamist iology, although was not clear whether the attack was a se of domtic or ternatnal ma emergency 911 lls shortly beforehand which he reportedly stated his allegiance to Islamic State. "But there are also reports Mateen ed gay datg apps and was a regular at the club where he rried out the Smh told the Orlando Sentel he had seen Mateen at least 12 tim at the Pulse, sayg he would sometim drk heavily, beg "loud and belligerent" source, RtersImage ptn, Friends and fay members embrace outsi the Orlando police headquartersAs qutns emerged about the gunman's history, FBI Special Agent Ron Hopper told reporters that Mateen had been terviewed by FBI officers twice 2013 followg flammatory ments to lleagu assertg ti to vtigatn end after officers were unable to substantiate the claims.

”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.

50 AD, ISLAMIC TERRORISM TIE EYED ORLANDO GAY BAR SHOOTG

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. — -- 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.