Post submitted by Hayley Miller, former HRC Associate Director of Digital and Social

A day after the horrific school shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, Pulse shooting survivor Brandon Wolf took to @HRC's Twitter handle for an #HRCTwitterTakeover to discuss the loss of his friend, Drew Leinonen, and the need to end gun violence in America.

Hey Twitter. I'm Brandon Wolf (@bjoewolf), a @pulseorlando shooting survivor here for an #HRCTwitterTakeover to talk about the shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, gun violence and my friend Drew. pic.twitter.com/z0fVj5GLWm

— Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) February 15, 2018

It's been 19 years since Columbine.
5 years since Newtown.
20 months since Pulse.
And less than 24 hours since the shooting in Parkland.
There have been 18 school shootings in the last six weeks. -@bjoewolf #HRCTwitterTakeover

— Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) February 15, 2018

People are dying. Kids are dying. How many more lives lost, families broken, dreams shattered can we take? What will it take for lawmakers to act? Lives are on the line. I would know. -@bjoewolf #HRCTwitterTakeover

— Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) February 15, 2018

In the shooting at Pulse, I lost my friends, including Drew. He was my once-in-a lifetime person. He was there through thick and thin and taught me how to love myself. -@bjoewolf #HRCTwitterTakeover

— Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) February 15, 2018

The last thing Drew said to me before he died: "We never tell each other enough that we love each other." -@bjoewolf #HRCTwitterTakeover

— Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) February 15, 2018

Drew and his boyfriend Juan were soulmates who embodied love and profoundly touched the lives of everyone they knew. -@bjoewolf #HRCTwitterTakeover pic.twitter.com/VzpAED80iv

— Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) February 15, 2018

I'd been planning for a quiet night but Drew convinced me to hang out. Drew & I met up to go dancing with our boyfriends, Juan and Eric, at @pulseorlando's Latin Night. Pulse was a place of solidarity & empowerment - a safe space to be yourself. -@bjoewolf #HRCTwitterTakeover

— Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) February 15, 2018

I was with Eric in the bathroom when we heard shots & had no idea what it was. Drew and Juan were on the dance floor. We thought it was the sound system, but then people began pouring into the bathroom and all we could smell was blood and smoke. -@bjoewolf #HRCTwitterTakeover

— Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) February 15, 2018

Eric and I ran and escaped but couldn't find Drew or Juan. I wanted to go back so badly, but it was too late. I fell to the sidewalk and cried the first of so many tears for friends I knew were gone. How did this happen? -@bjoewolf #HRCTwitterTakeover

— Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) February 15, 2018

Drew & his boyfriend, Juan, embodied the best of the #LGBTQ community. They were inclusive & kind, but, in an instant, Drew, Juan and 47 other beautiful souls were extinguished in a fusillade of bigotry and gun fire. -@bjoewolf #HRCTwitterTakeover

— Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) February 15, 2018

Weeks after the attack, my friends and I launched The Dru Project, a nonprofit organization that sponsors Gay-Straight Alliances in public schools and helps send future leaders to college. https://t.co/Citg7ZVXQ9 -@bjoewolf #HRCTwitterTakeover

— Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) February 15, 2018

When it happened, the tragedy at @pulseorlando was the deadliest mass shooting by a single gunman in U.S. history. That changed when a gunman opened fire on a crowd of concert goers in Las Vegas, killing 58 people on October 1, 2017. -@bjoewolf #HRCTwitterTakeover

— Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) February 15, 2018

It hurts so much to see coverage out of Parkland. �� These are KIDS. Parents shouldn’t be terrified to send their kids to school. We must do something to stop this epidemic of gun violence in our country. We need #GunReformNow. -@bjoewolf #HRCTwitterTakeover

— Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) February 15, 2018

In one minute, a legally-purchased assault weapon fired 30 rounds -- 13 of them murdered my friends at Pulse. There is an urgent need for common sense gun safety laws. I never want anyone to experience the pain we've experienced. #GunReformNow -@bjoewolf #HRCTwitterTakeover

— Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) February 15, 2018

How can you help?
-Elect leaders who will act. We need politicians who are in the pockets of their constituents, not the NRA.
-Text MY CONGRESS to 30644 and tell Congress to support #GunReformNow.
-Visit https://t.co/83r4xAbzUH.
-@bjoewolf #HRCTwitterTakeover

— Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) February 15, 2018

Drew had so much left to give. He lost his voice much too young but we didn't lose ours. We can't give up. Parkland, you deserve better. America, we can do better. This Pulse survivor won’t stop fighting and neither should you. -@bjoewolf #HRCTwitterTakeover

— Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) February 15, 2018