Dozens of activists staged a “die-in” near President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in West Palm Beach Tuesday on the second anniversary of the mass shooting at Pulse nightclub in Orlando that killed 49 people.
The demonstrators called for stricter gun control and an end to mistreatment of members of the LGTBQ+ community.
For 12 minutes, a patchwork of bodies lie on the west bank of the intercoastal waterway in silent protest, Mar-a-Lago perched on the opposite shore.
“We’re here to honor the Pulse victims and protest gun violence,” said organizer Jenny Corwin of West Palm Beach. “We are also protesting against mistreatment of the LGBTQ community -- because it was a hate crime."
Jeffrey Kasky, the president of Families Versus Assault Rifles Political Action Committee and the dad of Stoneman Douglas survivor and activist Cameron Kasky, spoke to the crowd.
“Donald Trump has been no friend to the LGBT community, nor has he been a leader in anti-assault weapon legislation,” Kasky said.
Other Stoneman Douglas parents spoke also spoke in support of the protest.
Manuel and Patricia Oliver’s son Joaquin was killed in the high school shooting -- less than two years after the attack at Pulse.
“We are the people,” said Patricia Oliver. “Go out and vote and raise your voice.”
