Co-Pres. Rev. Kathy Schmitz | Published on 6/10/2026
PULSE Anniversary thoughts and memories of June 12, 2016
by Co-Pres. Rev. Kathy Schmitz (shown above left in far-right corner leading a candlelight vigil in 2016)
10 years ago today, most of Central Florida went to sleep in one reality and woke the next morning to a horrifying new reality. The massacre at the Pulse Nightclub changed everything. This week we have been remembering the 49 lives taken from us, hearing the memories and struggles of their loved ones, and acknowledging once again the deep mental and physical trauma with which the survivors continue to live.
Each of us has our stories. Mine in part relates to shifting views on “gun control,” for which I had not been a strong advocate. On June 5, just one week earlier, the congregation I was serving, First Unitarian, had hosted a screening of the film “Making a Killing: Guns, Greed and the NRA.” The event was a collaboration of the Global Peace Film Festival, the League of Women Voters Gun Safety Committee, and the Valencia Peace & Justice Institute. My views began to shift.
The next weeks and months following the shooting were a blur of news, outreach, vigils, organizing, and more. And this was for someone not directly impacted. There was much deep soul searching as people considered their earlier words and actions. We promised to do better. Most importantly, we promised not to let this tear us apart.
One comment I remember from that time is another faith leader saying, “When 9/11 happened, it was hard to coordinate response, because we didn’t know each other. This time we do.” It wasn’t just the faith community, as evidenced by the collaboration on the film mentioned above. Central Florida was already working together. And on June 12, 2016, we learned that we had even more barriers to break down. A decade later, progress has been made.
The current state of public life is a different kind of crisis and, once again, we find that a critical part of our response must be to continue to tear down walls and build bridges. There is a discernable uptick in the number of creative collaborations in our region. This is a reason for hope.
As we remember the 49 lives lost in a horrific night of senseless violence, let us re-dedicate ourselves to working for the vibrant, safe, welcoming community they deserved to live out their lives in. Let us honor them by joining together, united on the side of love.
A poignant memory from ten years ago when Co-President Sara Isaac was also reaching out to LWVOC
Dear League Members,
Sunday was surreal. With the sound of helicopters on TV and hovering over the Pulse nightclub a few miles from my home, I watched as somber community leaders confirmed that Orlando was home to the latest, and worst, mass shooting in America.
Yet even as I found myself sobbing at the news, the cadence of the news conference began to feel eerily familiar. So, too, the unfolding news coverage. The timeline of the shooting. The profile of the shooter. The interview with his bewildered father. The shock of the body count. The pictures of the grieving. The profiles of the victims as their names became known. The gestures of support. The piling on by people who are moved by hate to hate more.
Even my shaken and teary phone calls to my young adult children -- who are the same age as so many of the victims and to whom Pulse was a beacon of tolerance and acceptance during their high school days -- seemed a bit like part of a script.
This is a scenario that has unfolded over and over again, from Charleston to Chattanooga, from Oregon to Colorado, from San Bernardino, California, to Orlando, Florida.
This has become the new normal.
I am proud of our community and the outpouring of love and grief and unity that has followed this deadly act of homophobia and terror. Within hours of the news on Sunday, lines snaked around One Blood centers across across the region as people stood in 90-degree heat for hours to donate. Strangers brought strangers food and cold drinks. Donations poured into crisis centers. Go Fund Me sites set up for the victims have collected nearly $2 million. Vigils have sprung up around the community and across the world as people search for a way to demonstrate their sorrow and support.
And yet. It feels all too familiar.
On Sunday a friend posted on Facebook that “Something must be done. But it won’t be, it never is.” That, my fellow League members, is our call to action.
First, we must grieve together, for the victims and their loved ones, for the hatred that has violated our community, for the fear that now pervades our lives. We must firmly and visibly unite behind the diversity and tolerance that defines Orange County as a vibrant and inclusive community.
And then we must do what we Leaguers do best: fight fiercely, fairly and unflaggingly to right this wrong. We can and will advocate for concrete action to stop gun violence in our country.
It is truly enough. It is long past time for a new new normal.
In League,
Sara
(shown below in 2016)
