Fil-Ams in Orlando grieve for friends lost in mass shooting

ORLANDO, Florida - Thousands of people gathered at a candlelight vigil for the victims of Pulse nightclub massacre while Filipino members of the LGBT community shared what it’s like losing friends in the attack.

A sea of candles covered the lawn of the Dr. Philips Center Performing Arts in Orlando on Monday night as thousands of people came to mourn the victims of the mass shooting at Pulse nightclub.

Organizers said the candles represent their commitment to move forward and to stand together against acts of terror and hate.

A bell tolled for each of the 49 victims. Their names read aloud so that they will not be forgotten.

Filipino-American members of the LGBT community also came to pay their respects to friends they lost in the hands of a terrorist.

"Love is love. Love doesn't discriminate, and to have hatred towards the gay or anybody because of their race or their culture, it' still uncalled for, don't discriminate," said Ronald Alcantara.

For Vilmar Abelarde, it's like Stonewall all over again. In 1969, the Stonewall riots in Manhattan's Greenwhich neighborhood ignited the gay liberation movement in the US.

"Two of my friends died, they won't be forgotten. I think we remember them. I think Stonewall propelled us to where we are today and I think this is gonna get us further," he said.

Abelarde said prayers and acts of solidarity such as this vigil are good but he wants to see more action, especially from elected officials and lawmakers.

US President Barack Obama is set to visit Orlando on Thursday to pay his respects to the families of the victims of the worst mass shooting in US history.

Some hope the president will touch on America's fight to defeat ISIS and possibly press for stricter gun control.

For now, the community in Orlando remains unbowed.

A sign projected on one of the buildings in downtown Orlando says: "Our heart may be broken but the pulse of our city goes on."

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Trump's post-Orlando message falls flat with Republican establishment

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK - The mass shooting in Orlando, Florida has allowed Donald Trump to seize upon a familiar issue he has used to great advantage -the threat of Islamist militants and his plan to limit Muslim immigration to the United States, offering him what could be a crucial moment to re-boot his sputtering presidential campaign.

But while rank-and-file voters might respond positively to Trump's renewed call for a ban on some Muslims entering the country, his reaction to the massacre showed few initial signs of winning over Republican foreign-policy figures who have spurned the New York mogul.

"It's a missed opportunity to present a different image," said Peter Feaver, a top National Security Council aide in the George W. Bush White House. "He has doubled down on policies I oppose and that aren't going to solve the problem."

Trump said in a speech Monday in New Hampshire he would suspend immigration from countries "where there is a proven history of terrorism" against the United States. He said radical Muslim immigrants were "trying to take over our children and convince them how wonderful ISIS (Islamic State) is."

After the worst mass murder in modern U.S. history on Sunday left 50 dead, Trump's speech was hastily refashioned from a broad critique of Democratic rival Hillary Clinton to a dire warning of the threat from Islamist militants.

Although Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack, U.S. officials have maintained that Omar Mateen's motives were unclear and that he had no known direct links with the Syria-based group. Mateen, they said, was likely radicalized over the Internet.

A week ago, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee's bid was taking on water. He was being battered by fellow Republicans for his comments about the Hispanic heritage of a federal judge, and Clinton was pulling away in the polls.

A renewed focus on national security could provide Trump with the chance to expand his appeal both to undecided voters and to the Republican foreign-policy establishment.

While Trump at times seems to relish being at odds with the establishment, the unhappiness among the party's hawks isn't just a matter of hand-wringing. It means if Trump does reach the White House, he could have a difficult time recruiting talented, experienced advisers.

ALARMING THE MAINSTREAM

Max Boot, an influential conservative at the Council on Foreign Relations, said the Orlando tragedy "could have provided an opening for Trump to rally Republicans against terrorism." But instead, Boot said, Trump has been "partisan and petty."

Boot criticized Trump for suggesting on Monday that President Barack Obama may sympathize with radicalized Muslims and for reviving the proposed Muslim ban. "His performance has been in character," Boot said, "which is to say appalling."

Trump has alarmed some mainstream Republicans with vows to shred international trade deals, his demands that Mexico pay for a border wall and his questioning of U.S. foreign policy pillars such as its security commitments to NATO and Asian allies.

Clinton struck a very different tone in a speech on Monday, urging "statesmanship, not partisanship" and "clear, rational discussion" on how to protect the United States from terrorist threats.

Eliot Cohen, a top-ranking State Department official during the Bush administration, called Trump's reaction to the shootings "opportunistic and shallow" and "not what Americans expect from a president."

Lanhee Chen, a top aide to Mitt Romney during his 2012 presidential campaign, suggested Trump will not be able to refine his image. "While it would be true in most cases a big speech like this could reset the decks, I think the challenge with Donald Trump is always who he is at his core," Chen said.

But voters are another matter. Trump's swift rise within the Republican Party was at least partly due to the strident tone he has taken toward immigrants and refugees.

When Trump responded to last year's terror attacks in Paris and California with a call for banning Muslims from entering the country, he surged in the Reuters/Ipsos poll in the weeks that followed, opening up a 30-point lead over his Republican primary rivals.

Republicans continue to be strongly supportive of Trump's approach to handling terrorism. This month, two-thirds of Republicans said they agreed with Trump's proposal to temporarily ban Muslims from entering the country.

Overall, 42 percent of Americans said they agreed with a Muslim ban while 50 percent said they disagreed, with another 8 percent not sure, according to another Reuters/Ipsos poll from May 17 to June 6. The poll of more than 6,000 people has a credibility interval, a measure of accuracy, of about 1.5 percentage points.

Combating Islamist extremism was on the mind of Texas billionaire Doug Deason, a major Republican donor who told Reuters he will meet with Trump later in the week to discuss his support.

Nothing Trump has said since the Orlando shooting has caused him to re-think backing him, Deason said.

Peter King, a U.S. congressman from New York, said his party's foreign-policy establishment will eventually have to get on board with Trump.

"As one of the two major candidates for president, he will have to get advice or consultation with top national-security people," King said.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Victim's last Snapchat starts with dancing, ends in gunfire

NEW YORK - Amanda Alvear's last Snapchat video post begins with a shot of her on the dance floor of an Orlando nightclub surrounded by friends. It ends with gunshots ringing out over the music.

Alvear, 25, was identified by police on Monday as one of 49 people killed by a gunman at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, in the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history. Alvear's friend Mercedez Flores, 26, who worked for Target, also was on the list. The Orlando Police Department has so far named 48 of the victims.

On Monday, Alvear's sister, Ashley Velez posted a photo of the pair, writing, "two beautiful souls have been taken way too soon. My sister Amanda is on the right and her best friend Mercedez Flores. You girls will be missed."

Edward Sotomayor, 34, was a marketing manager at a Sarasota, Florida-based gay-themed travel company. His boss, Al Ferguson, said Sotomayor's partner was outside the club putting something in a car when the shots rang out.

He got a text from Sotomayor telling him he was safe in the bathroom and not to come back into the club. Sotomayor texted again 20 minutes later to say he was OK. That was the last his partner heard from him, Ferguson said.

Sotomayor was a legend in the industry, Ferguson said. He booked tours for entertainer and drag queen RuPaul and put together the first gay cruise to Cuba last year. He was going to announce a second trip on Sunday, but was killed.

"Anyone who booked gay cruises knew Sotomayor," Ferguson told Reuters. "He was a great man."

Cory Connell, a 21-year old college student from the nearby suburb of Edgewater, loved to play football and worked part-time at a local grocery store, friends recalled.

He was out at the club with his girlfriend. She was listed in stable condition on Monday, but Cory died after being shot in the stomach and chest, his local College Park newspaper reported.

"It's hard to find one person who did not know Cory," Debbie Goetz, a family friend, told Reuters. "He had this exceptionally sincere smile ... looked you right in the eye every time."

"He was a very special guy. Everyone loved Cory."

 

Author J.K. Rowling was among the best known figures to express a tribute to the victims on social media, tweeting about a man who had worked at the "Harry Potter" theme park in Orlando.

"Luis Vielma worked on the Harry Potter ride at Universal," Rowling posted on Twitter. "He was 22 years old. I can't stop crying. #Orlando"

Vielma had worked part time while studying physical therapy at Seminole State College, according to his Facebook profile.

Jean Carlos Mendez Perez, 35, and Luis Daniel Wilson-Leon, 37, were also reported dead on Monday. The Orlando Sentinel wrote that the couple fell in love when Perez charmed Wilson-Leon into buying perfume at the store where he worked.

"That pain so big feels my heart to see their names on that list ... Rest in peace my beloved friends!!!!" wrote Tommy-Emanuel Quinones-Garcia.

Hairstylist Juan P. Rivera Velazquez, 37, and his partner Luis Conde, 39, both from Puerto Rico, had been together for 13 years, according to posts on social media.

"You will always be together in heaven and in our hearts," friend Nelia Bauza wrote on Facebook.

In the hours after the nightclub shooting and before police had released his name among the dead, friends of student Martin Benitez Torres, 33, had been searching for any sign that he was safe.

"Please, I need your number it's urgent call me I left my number inbox," a frantic Myriam Torres wrote on Sunday morning at 5:32 a.m., when police were in a stand-off with the gunman inside the club.

The post was never answered by Torres. (Reporting by Angela Moon; Editing by Peter Cooney, Toni Reinhold)

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