Orlando – After Pulse nightclub was attacked in June by a gunman in what is now regarded as the worst mass shooting in U.S. history, killing 49 people and injuring many others, the LGBTQ community was shocked and overwhelmed. However, Orlando and much of the world stood together in the face of such a hateful attack and proved that together we are stronger.
Pulse is now up for sale and Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and the owners of the club, Barbara Poma and her spouse, have agreed on a sale of the building for $2.25 million, which will need to be approved by the city council.
A vote was set for Nov. 14 to determine exactly how that would happen. However, Dyer has delayed the vote for almost a month to give the city more time to plan how best to seek public input on what should be done with Pulse. The new date for discussion is Dec. 5.
Dyer said in an interview with WMFE radio back in August that the city should purchase Pulse and eventually turn it into a memorial.
“Unfortunately, not all Council members support this decision,” Commissioner Patty Sheehan states in an email. “This is an opportunity to turn a tragedy into teaching peace and tolerance.”
The tragedy occurred a little over five months ago. The site still sees locals and tourists stop by to show respect for those who were lost and to leave tokens of remembrance, including politicians like Hillary Clinton and former President Bill Clinton.
“If the city doesn’t buy the site then anybody could buy the site; some real estate agent or commercial developer could buy the site and they can turn it into a parking lot,” State Representative-elect for House District 49, Carlos Guillermo Smith says.“That’s why it’s so important that that the city intervenes instead of putting the site out there on the real estate market for the highest bidder.”
Dyer has stated that the club will be left the way it is for the next twelve to eighteen months to allow those who wish to visit the site to do so, and to see it for how it was.
Guillermo Smith lauded Dyer for his leadership in this effort and agrees that this landmark should belong to the community.
“The tragedy that unfolded here is forever part of our city’s history and the history of the LGBTQ, Latino and Puerto Rican people,” Guillermo Smith says.
Sheehan urges the public to once again stand strong together and come out to the meeting and let their voices be heard.
Likewise Guillermo Smith, in a phone interview, urged city leaders to act now to secure this once safe haven to the LGBTQ community as a memorial to those that were lost, and also as a symbol to our commitment to building inclusive and safe communities.
“This historical site obviously has significance to so many communities, not just to the community of Orlando overall, but also to the LGBTQ community,” Guillermo Smith says. “For LGBTQ Americans, this site has become our ground zero.”
Currently, the Orange County History Museum shows up every so often to take artifacts away from the site to be preserved until the community can decide later what to do with all of those artifacts.
However, the site is still owned by Pulse owners and the completion of the purchase of the site by the city is what is still left in the balance.
“There have been so many folks that are directly impacted by the Pulse tragedy who are survivors themselves or family members of the 49,” Guillermo Smith says. “It’s more important now than ever, especially on this issue, that they come to that council meeting in December and make their voices heard.”
