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   Funerals Held for Some Orlando Shooting Victims; LGBTQ Group Pays Tribute

   by Candace Williams

   Family and friends of some of the 49 people killed in the massacre at a
   gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, gathered for the funerals of loved
   ones Friday, one day after President Barack Obama and Vice President
   Joe Biden met with grieving relatives, survivors, law enforcement
   personnel and first responders.

   Anthony Luis Laureano Disla was among those who died Sunday when
   U.S.-born Omar Mateen, 29, opened fire at Pulse nightclub in the
   deadliest shooting in U.S. history. A local funeral home said Disla,
   25, was to be buried in Orlando.

   Disla was originally from Puerto Rico, but had relocated to Orlando to
   pursue his dream of being a dancer and choreographer.

   New tribute

   As Orlando mourned the dead, [1]Human Rights Campaign -- the largest
   national LGBTQ organization -- unveiled an eight-story tribute Friday
   at its Washington, D.C., headquarters to those who perished.

   HRC said images of all 49 victims of the attack were installed in its
   front windows with the message, "We Are Orlando." HRC also said an
   online vigil for the victims and survivors has been created.

   Additionally, the group said that it adopted a resolution Thursday to
   address what it calls "the epidemic of hate that has fueled
   anti-LGBTQ-motivated murder, assault and discrimination, as well as
   common sense gun violence prevention policies that would help keep the
   LGBTQ community safe."

   The HRC announcement comes as lawmakers in the Senate prepare to meet
   Monday to take up four gun control proposals.

   Gun control

   Gun control is a politically divisive issue in the United States. The
   powerful U.S. gun lobby, led chiefly by the National Rifle Association,
   has fought off numerous gun control efforts in the U.S., even after
   deadly attacks like the Orlando massacre that have captured the
   attention of the nation.

   Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has said he
   would meet with the gun rights organization to discuss gun control in
   the aftermath of the Orlando shooting. The NRA said it will be "happy"
   to meet with him.

   Mateen called Orlando's 911 emergency line three times as he carried
   out the attack, professing his allegiance to Islamic State leader Abu
   Bakr al-Baghdadi, and referencing the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing that
   left three people dead.

   In Orlando on Thursday, Obama said, "If we don't act, we will keep
   seeing more massacres like this because we will be choosing to allow
   them to happen."

   The siege in the Orlando nightclub ended when police knocked holes into
   the establishment and killed Mateen, the son of Afghan immigrants, in a
   shootout.

   Separately, Friday marks the one-year anniversary of the deadly attack
   in Charleston, South Carolina, where gunman Dylann Roof shot and killed
   nine people who were holding a bible study at historically black
   Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. He is set to go on trial in
   November, and could face the death penalty if convicted.
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   [2]http://www.voanews.com/content/funerals-orlando-shooting-victims-lgb
   t-group-tribute/3381253.html

References

   1. http://act.hrc.org/ea-action/action?ea.client.id=1954&ea.campaign.id=52151&ea.url.id=633117
   2. http://www.voanews.com/content/funerals-orlando-shooting-victims-lgbt-group-tribute/3381253.html