June 29, 2016 The Skanner Page 9
News
Human Rights Campaign Shows Support for ‘Common Sense’ Gun Control
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE WASHINGTON INFORMER
‘We Are Orlando’ campaign shows faces of shooting victims at organization's D.C. headquarters
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), a civil rights advocacy group and political
lobbying organization for the LGBTQ community, posted photos of victims of the
Orlando shooting in its national oice.
By Victoria Jones
NNPA/DTU Journalism Fel-
low, The Washington Informer
T
he Human Rights Cam-
paign (HRC), a civil rights
advocacy group and po-
litical lobbying organi-
zation for the LGBTQ commu-
nity, showed support for the
victims of the Orlando mas-
sacre by posting photos of the
victims with their names and
ages in each window of their
downtown Washington, D.C.
oice. In huge block letters a
sign read: “We are Orlando.”
Just outside their building, the
organization hung a wreath
and a board where support-
ers posted messages of love,
solidarity and condolences for
the victims of the tragedy and
their families.
Residents and visitors to
Washington, D.C. also ex-
pressed their unity with the
victims and their families
through donations, march-
es and candle light vigils.
Emmanuel Kamonyo, who is
originally from Rwanda and
currently working in Nairobi,
came to the HRC headquarters
to share his feelings about the
tragedy.
“I support equality. I support
non-discrimination,” said Ka-
monyo. “It’s a terrible event, so
I passed by to give my support
and to sign something.”
Joe Solmonese, a Washing-
ton, D.C. resident and a mem-
ber of the LGBTQ community
said that the HRC memorial is
an extraordinary and incred-
ible tribute to the victims and
the strength and the power of
the community in Orlando,
Fla., in Washington, D.C. and
the world.
“This is beyond emotional.
The amount of love that peo-
ple have shown in such a bad,
hateful, evil situation has been
unbelievable,” said Joanna Os-
terhout, an Orlando resident
and a LGBTQ member. “It’s
really been emotional and em-
powering, and it makes you
want to ight the injustice that
was done, not just for the 49 in-
dividuals and the 53 that were
injured, but for anyone who
has not stood up for it.”
Denise Murray, who is also
an Orlando resident and a
member of the LGBTQ com-
munity said that she was very
honored and touched to be in
Washington, D.C. and see the
support for the victims of the
tragedy of Orlando.
“We came on this trip to
support our team, the Orlan-
do Pride, with our supportive
group ‘The Crown,’ and the city
has embraced us and really
helped us with our mourning
We honor the many
accomplishments of
African Americans.
It is our primary goal as a labor union to better the lives of all people working
in the building trades through advocacy, civil demonstration, and the long-held
belief that workers deserve a “family wage” - fair pay for an honest day’s work.
A family wage, and the beneits that go with it, not only strengthens families, but also
allows our communities to become stronger, more cohesive, and more
responsive to their citizens’ needs.
Our family wage agenda relects our commitment to people working in the building
trades, and to workers everywhere. In this small way, we are doing our part to help
people achieve the American Dream. This dream that workers can hold dear
regardless of race, color, national origin, gender, creed, or religious beliefs.
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process, so we are very grate-
ful,” said Murray. “Our hearts
are forever touched by the
compassion that we have seen
here in D.C. for our city.”
The June 12 Orlando massa-
cre at Pulse nightclub let 49
people dead and 53 injured.
The club was considered a safe
“
to pass any legislation in the af-
termath of Sandy Hook during
his speech. “For those of us
that represent Connecticut,
the failure of this body to do
anything, anything at all in the
face of that continued slaugh-
ter isn’t just painful to us, it’s
unconscionable,” he said.
This is beyond emotional. The
amount of love that people have
shown in such a bad, hateful, evil sit-
uation has been unbelievable
space for the LGBTQ commu-
nity.
Three days ater the shoot-
ing, Senate Democrats started
a surprise ilibuster holding
any legislation hostage until
the issue of gun safety reform
was addressed. According to
the Associated Press, Senator
Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) start-
ed the ilibuster at about 11:20
a.m. on June 15. Murphy tweet-
ed before he began speaking
that he would stay on the loor
as long as necessary and pre-
vent legislators from bringing
any other issues to the loor
for as long as he could contin-
ue talking.
According to AP, Murphy
referenced Congress’ failure
The ilibuster lasted for
nearly 15 hours and ended af-
ter Republican Party leaders
reportedly agreed to allow
votes on two proposed gun
control measures. The mea-
sures considered a ban people
on the government’s terror-
ist watch list from obtaining
gun licenses and whether to
expand background checks to
gun shows and Internet sales.
The gunman, Omar Mateen,
was investigated by the FBI
twice and cleared of suspect-
ed ties to terrorists, before he
purchased the guns that he
used during the massacre.
Read the rest of this story at
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