Equality Florida

06/17/2026

Progress isn't accidental. Neither is the rising hate towards the LGBTQ community.

Watch Brandon Wolf, Equality Florida's Senior Director of Communications Strategy break down exactly why support for the LGBTQ community has remained strong among a majority of Americans, why it's so important that we share our stories and remain visibile, and how politicians like Ron DeSantis are trying to turn back the clock on our progress.

MS NOW

06/16/2026

Our Legacy of Equality Society is a group of generous and forward-thinking Equality Florida supporters who have made a long-range commitment to the success of our mission to bring full equality to Florida’s LGBTQ community. Their gifts will benefit the next generations of LGBTQ people, whose equality battles are yet to be known. To learn more about the Legacy of Equality Society, please visit eqfl.org/legacy.

06/15/2026

JOIN US: Friday, July 3rd. We the People comes to downtown Fort Lauderdale with a march, a rally, and a free outdoor concert on the eve of America's 250th.

We're marching for trans joy. For access to high quality, compassionate care. To fight back against attacks on LGBTQ visibility. For every LGBTQ+ child because they deserve to be safe, loved, and affirmed. Join our march team! As a special thank you for joining us, Equality Florida marchers will receive:

👕​ A commemorative t-shirt
💧​ A limited edition water bottle
🤗​ $100 gift card

Sign-up today: https://wtpmarch.org/rsvp/

06/13/2026

panel event on LGBTQ+ equality and gun violence prevention with Equality Florida, Human Rights Campaign, and GIFFORDS in remembrance of the 49 lives stolen in the shooting at Pulse.

06/13/2026

Emotional day as the City of Orlando observed the 10 year Pulse Remembrance Ceremony.

Brandon Wolf, a Pulse survivor, said the day was difficult but meaningful.

“I knew coming into today that it would be hard. It has been a hard day. I can’t believe that it’s been 10 years,” Wolf said. “It feels both like a lifetime and no time at all. But this was really beautiful. It was beautiful to be in community with each other. I thought the music, the candles, the video was beautiful with the families and friends. It just it felt really good to be home.”

Read more visiting Spectrum News 13:

https://mynews13.com/fl/orlando/news/2026/06/13/orlando-honors-49-pulse-victims-at-day-of-remembrance-ceremony

06/12/2026

Today marks 10 years since a man filled with hate and armed with a weapon of war murdered 49 ​p​eople at Orlando’s Pulse Nightclub.​ Many were young, q***r people of color. They had dreams, plans, and futures ahead of them. Those futures were stolen in an act of unimaginable violence.

It was one of the darkest days in our community’s history. But in the face of profound grief, we witnessed something extraordinary.

In a moment meant to divide us, people chose compassion​ and love. Communities came together to support survivors, care for one another, and stand against hate. That spirit became known as ​ , and it continues to inspire us today.

The le​g​acy of Pulse has always been that remembrance alone is not enough. We must honor the 49 with action. That means confronting hatred wherever it appears, defending the dignity and humanity of LGBTQ​ people, and building communities where everyone can live safely and openly.

Over the last decade, Florida has become both the epicenter of anti-LGBTQ​ attacks and the front line of the resistance against them. Time and again, LGBTQ​ Floridians and our allies have responded by organizing, advocating, and showing up for one another. We have turned grief into purpose and pain into progress.

As we mark this remembrance, we recommit ourselves to the promise we made ten years ago: to honor the 49 not only with our remembrance, but through the ongoing work of creating a safer, more just future for every ​person — including the LGBTQ community.



Stanley Almodovar III, 23 years old
Amanda Alvear, 25 years old
Oscar A Aracena Montero, 26 years old
Rodolfo Ayala Ayala, 33 years old
Antonio Davon Brown, 29 years old
Darryl Roman Burt II, 29 years old
Angel L. Candelario Padro, 28 years old
Juan Chavez Martinez, 25 years old
Luis Daniel Conde, 39 years old
Cory James Connell, 21 years old
Tevin Eugene Crosby, 25 years old
Deonka Deidra Drayton, 32 years old
Simon Adrian Carrillo Fernandez, 31 years old
Leroy Valentin Fernandez, 25 years old
Mercedez Marisol Flores, 26 years old
Peter O. Gonzalez Cruz, 22 years old
Juan Ramon Guerrero, 22 years old
Paul Terrell Henry, 41 years old
Frank Hernandez, 27 years old
Miguel Angel Honorato, 30 years old
Javier Jorge Reyes, 40 years old
Jason Benjamin Josaphat, 19 years old
Eddie Jamoldroy Justice, 30 years old
Anthony Luis Laureano Disla, 25 years old
Christopher “Drew” Andrew Leinonen, 32 years old
Alejandro Barrios Martinez, 21 years old
Brenda Lee Marquez McCool, 49 years old
Gilberto Ramon Silva Menendez, 25 years old
KJ Morris, 37 years old
Akyra Monet Murray, 18 years old
Luis Omar Ocasio Capo, 20 years old
Geraldo A. Ortiz Jimenez, 25 years old
Eric Ivan Ortiz Rivera, 36 years old
Joel Rayon Paniagua, 32 years old
Jean Carlos Mendez Perez, 35 years old
Enrique L. Rios, Jr., 25 years old
Jean C. Nives Rodriguez, 27 years old
Xavier Emmanuel Serrano Rosado, 35 years old
Christopher Joseph Sanfeliz, 24 years old
Yilmary Rodriguez Solivan, 24 years old
Edward Sotomayor Jr., 34 years old
Shane Evan Tomlinson, 33 years old
Martin Benitez Torres, 33 years old
Jonathan Antonio Camuy Vega, 24 years old
Juan P. Rivera Velazquez, 37 years old
Luis S. Vielma, 22 years old
Franky Jimmy Dejesus Velazquez, 50 years old
Luis Daniel Lestat Wilson Leon, 37 years old
Jerald “Jerry” Arthur Wright, 31 years old

06/12/2026

LGBTQ people are part of families and faith communities in every corner of this state. Our lives, our families, and our contributions to Florida are not up for debate.

The problem has never been faith or family; it’s a Governor and his enablers whose exclusionary version of faith and family does not reflect the reality of the state they claim to represent. This proclamation peddles a lie: that faith & family belong to some more than others.

As we prepare to mark 10 years since Pulse, our communities are remembering the lives lost, the families forever changed, and the responsibility we all share in advancing the lesson of the aftermath: in the face of hatred and violence, Floridians chose compassion, unity, & love.

Florida is home to families of every kind, people of all backgrounds. And our state is made great when freedom, equality, dignity, and respect are afforded to everyone. Long after this proclamation is forgotten, that is the state we are building.

06/12/2026

Tomorrow marks 10 years since the Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando.​ As we continue to , we encourage everyone to listen to, uplift, and share the stories of survivors and victims’ families​ —​ the people who carry the legacy of the 49 with them every day.

We especially encourage you to read and share the powerful reflections collected by Orlando Sentinel, including Amanda Alvear’s story, lovingly told by her mother, Mayra Alvear. These tributes remind us not only of what was ​taken, but of the lives, dreams, and love that continue to inspire our fight for a safer, more just world.

“I just remember screaming…going to my knees and asking God, ‘Please let her be alive, let her be injured, don’t take her from us yet,'” Alvear said of that day in June 2016 when she learned her daughter had…

06/11/2026

"Equality Florida has launched the campaign to commemorate the 10-year remembrance of the Pulse nightclub tragedy. As we approach June 12, Equality Florida will share daily actions anyone can take to carry forward the legacy of Pulse.

There are a number of events and initiatives throughout Central Florida to honor the victims, survivors and their loved ones.

Del Ambiente, a nonprofit organization serving Puerto Rico's LGBTQ+ community and their allies, will host PULSE 10: Baquiné for the Angels on Thursday. The event will honor the victims of the Pulse nightclub tragedy and provide a space for collective healing."

06/11/2026

In 2022, President Biden signed the first major federal gun safety legislation passed in nearly 30 years.

But we know that thoughts and prayers alone are never enough. Real change requires action.

We honor the lives lost at Pulse​, and all those taken by gun violence​, by speaking out, organizing, and advocating for the safer future they deserved.

The work is far from over. As some seek to roll back hard-fought progress, we must continue raising our voices. Contact your local, state, and federal elected officials and demand action that saves lives.


_________

En 2022, el presidente Joe Biden firmó la primera legislación federal importante sobre seguridad de armas aprobada en casi 30 años.

Pero sabemos que los pensamientos y las oraciones por sí solos nunca son suficientes. El cambio real requiere acción.

Honramos las vidas perdidas en Pulse y a todas las personas que han sido víctimas de la violencia armada al alzar nuestras voces, organizarnos y defender el futuro más seguro que merecían.

El trabajo está lejos de terminar. Mientras algunas personas intentan revertir avances logrados con tanto esfuerzo, debemos seguir haciéndonos escuchar. Comunícate con tus representantes locales, estatales y federales y exige medidas que salven vidas.