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Tuesday, June 12, 2018

Bloggytown

Two years later, Florida Gov. Rick Scott finally wears a Pulse ribbon

Posted By Colin Wolf on Tue, Jun 12, 2018 at 3:10 PM

It's with a VERY HAPPY heart that I post this photo. THANK YOU FOR FINALLY WEARING THE ORLANDO RIBBON AND ACKNOWLEDGING THE 49.
Thank You @FLGovScott

Thank you @CarlosGSmith for texting me this photo. pic.twitter.com/bjEkUAVe3v
— Orlando Ribbon Project🏳️‍🌈 (@orlandoribbons) June 12, 2018

On the two-year anniversary of Pulse, which took the lives of 49 people at the Orlando gay nightclub and is the second worst mass shooting in modern American history, Florida Gov. Rick Scott has decided to finally wear a rainbow ribbon.

"Thank you for finally wearing the Orlando ribbon and acknowledging the 49," wrote the Orlando Ribbon Project on Twitter this afternoon.

This has become a bit of a sore issue for Scott, who's currently running for a Florida Senate seat, since he was spotted last April wearing a maroon ribbon in support of the victims of the Parkland shooting, but never wearing one for Pulse.

According to Ben Johansen, founder of the Orlando Ribbon Project, Scott actually visited the Center of Orlando five days after Pulse and was twice offered a rainbow ribbon, which he declined.

Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith of Orlando also ripped the governor for not showing equal support to both communities. "Great seeing Gov. Scott wear the Parkland ribbon in solidarity w/MSD," wrote Smith in a tweet. "Why haven't you ever worn the iconic rainbow Pulse ribbon in solidarity w/my community? Politicians across Orlando, FL, the USA + the world have worn them. Why not our own Gov? We deserve an answer."

Great seeing @FLGovScott wear the Parkland ribbon in solidarity w/MSD. Why haven't you ever worn the iconic rainbow Pulse ribbon in solidarity w/my community? Politicians across Orlando, FL, the USA + the world have worn them. Why not our own Gov? We deserve an answer. #Sayfie pic.twitter.com/nxSKGlybdu
— Rep. Carlos G Smith (@CarlosGSmith) April 5, 2018

We criticized Scott back in April on this issue, pointing out that the ribbon itself may seem trivial, but not when you're the governor and it's literally your job to help communities come together after tragedies.

Scott's office responded to our story by stating that the governor did in fact wear a ribbon at the one year anniversary of Pulse. However, they did not provide, and we have yet to see, a single video clip or photo to confirm this.

Scott, who once fought to ban gay marriage and also broke his promise to sign an order that would've protected state LGBTQ employees against discrimination, hasn't exactly been an ally to Florida's gay community. He also didn't do anything about our state's gun violence issue in the 612 days between Pulse and Parkland.

But hey, he's wearing the ribbon.

So, congrats to Rick Scott for being forced into doing the absolute minimum right thing, even if by all appearances it looks as if that rainbow ribbon is burning through your suit and scorching your skin like a crucifix on a vampire.

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Tags: Rick Scott, ribbon, Pulse, Image

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