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U.S. Senate Passes Bill That Would Make Pulse Nightclub A National Memorial

The temporary memorial at the site of the Pulse Nightclub. Photo: Matthew Peddie, WMFE (2019)
The temporary memorial at the site of the Pulse Nightclub. Photo: Matthew Peddie, WMFE (2019)

The U.S Senate has approved legislation that would designate the Pulse nightclub as a national memorial. The vote comes five years after the mass shooting that left 49 dead and dozens more wounded. 

The U.S. House of Representatives approved the bill in May, after it was introduced by central Florida Representatives Darren Soto, Val Demings, and Stephanie Murphy. 

Under the bill, the site of the Pulse nightclub will be designated as the“National Pulse Memorial.” The site will not become part of the National Park system, nor can federal funds be used to support its upkeep.

The bill now heads to President Joe Biden. 

Events are scheduled this week throughout central Florida memorializing the lives lost in the mass shooting on June 12th, 2016. 

After a brief stint as Morning Edition Producer at The Public’s Radio in Rhode Island, Talia Blake returned to Central Florida Public Media. She is a graduate of the University of Central Florida with degrees in both Broadcast Journalism and Psychology. While at UCF, she was an intern for Central Florida’s public affairs show, Intersection. She joined on as Morning Edition Host in 2019. In 2022, Ms. Blake was appointed to the Florida Association of Broadcast Journalist’s board of directors.