Posted on

Restore Pulse Memorial Rainbow Crosswalk

Senator Carlos Guillermo Smith, in front of the restored crosswalk. R: Florida locals coloring in the crosswalk. Images shared with Newsweek by Carlos Guillermo Smith
Senator Carlos Guillermo Smith, in front of the restored crosswalk. R: Florida locals coloring in the crosswalk. Images shared with Newsweek by Carlos Guillermo Smith

22 August 2025- In a cruel gesture,  the rainbow crosswalk memorial to the Pulse Nightclub shooting victims was painted over.  Florida Furtively Painted Over A Rainbow Crosswalk Outside Pulse Nightclub | HuffPost UK U.S. News.

Orlando citizens outraged at this sneaky covert operation swiftly and defiantly re-colored the rainbow back in chalk (some earlier reports suggested they painted it).

In June 2016, 49 people lost their lives when a gunman attacked the Pulse nightclub, deliberately targeting LGBTQ people.  This violent tragedy inspired actor and activist George Takei to start the One Pulse for America initiative, to lobby for gun law reform.

 

Some sources say a Trump directive to paint over any non-standard crosswalks was the reason; other news sources claim Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is responsible.  Ron DeSantis paints over Pulse Memorial rainbow crosswalk in the dead of night

Whoever was responsible, we want to send a strong message:  You can’t erase the crosswalk and you can’t erase the truth of what happened at Pulse.

ACTION:

Please take the action(s) of your choice:-

 

1.  Sign a petition to demand the memorial be restored: 

Petition · Restore the Pulse Memorial Crosswalk in Orlando – United States · Change.org

2.  Share an article: about the rainbow crosswalk to your social media.  There are several links on this Action Alert; or choose this one:  Ron DeSantis paints over Pulse Memorial rainbow crosswalk in the dead of night

Suggested message for the above action:  The rainbow crosswalk is a monument to the 49 people killed by gun violence at Orlando’s Pulse nightclub in 2016.  They were targeted for being part of the LGBTQ community.  The crosswalk was painted over – but the people of Orlando struck back and colored it back in chalk.  I am a member of One Pulse for America, founded by George Takei following the mass shooting at Pulse.  I condemn this attempt to remove the memorial to these people, and we at One Pulse for America will keep working for gun law reform.  We want this memorial restored!

3.  Join the discussion on the Newsweek article about those great people who colored the rainbow crosswalk back in- Florida Locals Defy Ron DeSantis By Restoring Pulse Rainbow Crosswalk – Newsweek

4. Reply to discussion on the topic on Twitter/X

Below is a suggested tweet: changing it to your own words, please add it to a relevant discussion on Twitter/X, perhaps Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer’s tweet/X here:  Mayor Buddy Dyer on X: “We are devastated to learn that overnight the state painted over the Pulse Memorial crosswalk on Orange Avenue. But we know that while this crosswalk has been removed, Orlando’s commitment to honoring the 49 can never be erased. https://t.co/4LdXvLUiom” / X

Draft Tweet / X: As a member of One Pulse For America, the gun law reform founded by actor & activist @GeorgeTakei in response to the 2016 Pulse Nightclub shooting, I insist the rainbow tribute to those targeted in the violent gun attack be restored permanently.

 

Once you have taken this action, fill out the three fields below (we will only use your info to count the number of actions taken) and click the orange banner to report taking action!  You can take the action several times, please report each action you take!

 

Posted on

Ask White House to explain President’s snub to Pulse victims

June 18 2019 – President Trump arrives in Orlando, and to a throng of followers he announces he will run for the presidency again in 2020.  Not far away, others have been commemorating the tragic shooting at Pulse nightclub three years ago.  The president failed to even acknowledge the anniversary when he addressed his Orlando crowd.

Buzz Feed quoted one of those present at the Pulse gathering:  “We just had our anniversary, we just had a memorial mourning the fact that we lost all those lives. He barely even acknowledged the fact that we lost those 49 lives,” said Rocky Rivera. “It wracked the country, it wracked the globe. We’ve been thinking about it ever since … We’ve been scared, and ironically the people we’re scared of support him.”

President Trump CSpan image from Orlando Weekly

Trump claimed at the time that if one person present had a gun and knew how to use it, the Pulse tragedy would not have been so extensive.

In fact, the automatic weapon used on the 300-strong crowd did its devastating work in a matter of seconds.

 

 

The Orlando Weekly has called Trump out on his ignorance in this article,  reminding him how quickly the event happened and that a trained, gun-carrying person at the scene could not have reacted fast enough.  The paper said: “…OPD estimated from listening to 911 calls that Mateen fired about 200 rounds in less than five minutes and only stopped to reload.”

ACTION:

Write to president and give him the following message, personalized to your liking:

You visited Orlando to announce your bid for the 2020 presidential race, while at the same time mourners and supporters gathered at the scene of Orlando’s horrific Pulse shooting to commemorate the third anniversary of this American tragedy.  I call on you to rectify this huge insult by making a comment on Pulse massacre now – and to work to stop the sale of automatic and semi-automatic weapons.  You can and must take action to stop further wholly avoidable tragedies.

At the time of the massacre, you said that one person with a gun could have stopped or mitigated the casualties at Pulse.  Now that we know that the killer had an weapon that fired 200 rounds in under five minutes, and that there was a trained, competent gun-carrier at the event, I call on you to put the blame squarely where it belongs:  on the NRA and all those who want automatic and semi-automatic weapons to be available for sale, and I expect you to make a statement and take action accordingly.

I also call on you to reflect on the hatred the gunman had for the LGBTQ community, and how hate speech around him helped fuel his actions; I call on you to recognise the gravity and influence of your office, and to curb your own homophobic speech and actions.  There is no reason a LGBTQ member of the armed forces should experience anything but your thanks and the country’s thanks.

Finally, I expect you to take seriously the increase in gun-related deaths in 2018 in the US  – nearly 40,000 people according to the New York Times.  I expect you to take this epidemic seriously, and to end your ties to the National Rifle Association, now forever tainted with accepting funds from Russia:  something of course the American president must never be linked to.

I await your answer both by return and in your next address to the nation.

The White House  
Phone: (202) 456 1111
Email: https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/ (form)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pg/WhiteHouse/posts/?ref=page_internal 
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/POTUS 

And importantly, please consider copying your Senator what you send to the White House:

Your State Senators
Phone: (202) 224-3121 
Click here for a list of all senators and their contact information 

Once you have contacted The White House and/or your own senators, fill in the three fields below and click the orange banner to report taking action!