Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was harshly criticized for issuing a statement commemorating the third anniversary of the massacre at Orlando's gay Pulse nightclub but making no reference to the LGBTQ community, Politico reported Wednesday.
Following the criticism, DeSantis reissued the proclamation and mentioned the LGBTQ community in remembrance of the 49 people killed in the shooting.
Even though DeSantis has tried to brand himself as a Republican moderate, his failure to cite the LGBTQ community originally was even more glaring because he apparently based his proclamation on the one issued last year by then Gov. Rick Scott, also a Republican, which did mention the LGBTQ victims.
State Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith, an openly gay Democrat from Orlando, on Wednesday slammed DeSantis in a tweet, without mentioning his name, writing "Orlando's LGBTQ community will never be erased."
As the criticism against the governor gained momentum throughout the day, DeSantis tweeted about the Pulse anniversary, this time mentioning the LGBTQ community.
"Today we mourn the loss of life of 49 innocent victims of an ISIS-inspired terrorist attack at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando that targeted the LGBT and Hispanic community, and Florida as a whole," DeSantis wrote. "In honor of their memory, I am ordering flags to be lowered to half-staff."
State Rep. Anna Eskamani, a Democrat who represents the district where Pulse is located, told Politico the tweet was "damage control," but added "An apology is warranted for the original Pulse proclamation."
Some five hours later, DeSantis was even more direct, issuing another tweet that declared:
"I have directed today's Pulse Remembrance Day proclamation be corrected and re-issued to include a direct reference to our LGBTQ and Hispanic communities who were attacked during this horrific act of violence."
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