WASHINGTON — The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) — the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) civil rights organization —honors the lives of the 49 people — most of them young, LGBTQ+ and Latinx — killed in the attack at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando on June 12, 2016. Sunday’s commemoration falls as the United States continues to grapple with the scourge of gun violence, with recent shootings in Buffalo, NY; Uvalde, TX; and Laguna Woods, CA, to name only three. A total of 32 people – most of them people of color – were killed in those events.

HRC Interim President Joni Madison said in a statement:

“We will never forget the lives lost at Pulse — beloved friends, siblings, partners and parents who were dancing in community and celebration only to be struck down in an act of terrible violence against the LGBTQ+ community. Gun violence remains an LGBTQ+ issue, with three-fourths of homicides against transgender people – including nearly eight in ten homicides of Black trans women – involving a gun.

Compounding this tragedy is the fact that in the six years since Pulse, we have been unable to advance meaningful federal gun reform legislation. The United States has more mass shootings than any other country in the world; nearly 53 people are killed by a firearm each day. But politicians who have been elected to serve the public are more concerned with censoring our identities and targeting trans and non-binary kids than protecting our communities from fatal violence. Politicians who have been elected to serve the public send ‘thoughts and prayers’ as they spread messages of hate and division that only fuel further violence.

We are facing a rising tide of hate violence against our communities, attacks fueled by racism, sexism, transphobia, homophobia, xenophobia, Islamophobia, and anti-Semitism. Today, and every day, HRC joins with our partners and with people around the world in calling for an end to white supremacy, and for a transformation of our systems and institutions into ones that advance justice, equity and equality. Today and every day, together we are calling for immediate, measurable action towards this transformation — action that must include common sense gun reform.”

The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people. HRC envisions a world where LGBTQ+ people are embraced as full members of society at home, at work and in every community.