SARASOTA – For members of the LGBTQ community the month of Pride is a time to celebrate life, but for many impacted by the tragedy at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, today is a time to remember the lives lost.
“Here in Orlando and in much of Central Florida, this is where you were one moment, and as June approaches we all begin to feel it and we all know it is coming,” Owner of Pulse Nightclub, Barbara Poma.
June 12th, marks 5 years since a gunman killed 49 people, and injured 53 more in a mass shooting inside pulse nightclub in Orlando.
Barbara Poma, Owner of Pulse Nightclub, says the outpour of love and support from around the world is what helped Orlando stay strong.
“I think it’s what separates us from many of the other tragedies around the world, the allies of the LGBTQ+ are crucial in their support and we saw that in Orlando,” said Poma.
Poma says working through the grief and surviving the trauma has not been a linear journey for everyone
“Everyone does it at their own rate, I know its cliché but tis the absolute truth in five years I can tell you that there are people who have made great strides forward but still have setbacks and there are people who have made little strides forward but everyone does it in their own time and the important thing is they keep trying,” said Poma.
One of the 49 people killed that night was Sarasota resident Eddie Sotomayor Jr.
“Unfortunately he lost two fingers blocking a bullet from a young lady who is still alive today, its they type of person he was, so when I found out he died in the shooting I really was not surprised, I was saddened and heartbroken, but that was Eddie, I would expect nothing less, than for him to fight until the end and protect people that he cared about and people that he didn’t even know, and that’s what he did,” said a friend of 16 years of Eddie Sotomayor Jr., Robb McGovern.
Every year, Robb McGovern, a close friend of Sotomayor Jr. honors his memory and those of the other 48 Pulse angels by hosting a memorial outside of Sarasota’s City Hall.
“One day out of the year, it’s worth it to me, and it’s been five years, but kind of like Columbine and 911, people forget, and these 49 people do not deserve not to be remembered,” said McGovern.