Below are remarks from UF Professor Paul Ortiz from the Pulse Commemoration and United Ceremony held at UF on June 28. The event was organized to mourn and stand in solidarity with the LGBTQ community after the mass shooting in Orlando earlier in June.
Tonight, we honor the victims and the survivors of one of the most terrible massacres in American history.
We send our thoughts and our prayers to the LGBT community in Orlando and we also send our apologies.
Yes, our apologies. For we must recognize that all of us play a role in a society where violence and hatred have too often become standard operating procedure. In Florida, we have too often elected or anointed leaders who spout hatred against Trans People, the LGBT community, against immigrants, against people of color.