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Surviving The Pulse Massacre Propelled This Gay Man Into Gun Reform Activism

Brandon Wolf is one of a group of survivors who made it out of Pulse nightclub alive in the early hours of June 12, 2016. His best friend, Christopher Leinonen, did not and Wolf has spent the two years since the massacre fighting to honor Leinonen through his advocacy.

canada goose coats In the wake of the Pulse shooting, Wolf founded The canada goose clearance sale Dru Project, an organization dedicated to the promotion of Gender Sexualities Alliance Networks GSAs in public schools. canada goose coats

canada goose clearance “I personally am not anti gun,” Wolf told HuffPost. “I think our canada goose outlet Second Amendment is uniquely American, and I understand people’s passion around it. What I will say is the laws in this country don’t work.” canada goose clearance

canada goose black friday sale “Our legislators inherited a system that worked. They inherited an economy that worked. They totally bankrupted it I think, both economically and morally,” Wolf added. “There is no better representation of that than our obsession with firearms and how much we value them over human life.” canada goose black friday sale

canada goose uk outlet In this interview with HuffPost, Wolf talked about his dedication to canadian goose jacket the reform of American gun laws, the Parkland students and Canada Goose sale how canada goose coats the Pulse massacre shaped him as both an activist and human being. canada goose uk outlet

uk canada goose Thinking about your work surrounding gun control in this country, can you talk Canada Goose online to me a bit about why the anti gun movement is such a personal thing for you? uk canada goose

canada goose store I personally am not anti gun. I canada goose black friday sale think our Second Amendment is uniquely American, and I understand people’s passion around it. What I will say is the laws in this country don’t work. canada goose store

And the reason it’s so personal to me is obviously I was at Pulse nightclub in 2016. I lost my two very best friends. I would call them brothers. I’ve seen first hand where the law and our legal system have failed us.

canada goose clearance sale Our legislators inherited a system that worked. They inherited an economy that worked. They totally bankrupted it I think both economically and morally. There is no better representation of that than our obsession with firearms and how much we value them over human life. canada goose clearance sale

It is personal to me. I guess I would just. the only thing I would take issue with is that people who believe that we need to do something different are not anti gun. They’re pro people.

How do you see the movement surrounding gun laws in this country and the LGBTQ rights canada goose clearance movement as intersecting?

canada goose uk black friday Well, I think it’s obvious to those of us in the community that LGBTQ cheap Canada Goose people, specifically LGBTQ people of color, are exponentially more at risk to be harmed, to be humiliated, to be bullied, to be harassed based on who we are. You ask trans women of color what it feels like to be in America today, and it’s a scary place. canada goose uk black friday

I think the two movements really are uniquely intertwined, because if we create a world where everyone is safer, if we create a world where only the right people have their hands on weapons, then we create a world where LGBTQ people are safer. We have for generations, for centuries really, been targeted for who we are.

We have a unique responsibility to lead the charge to protect not only ourselves but everyone really from that kind of violence.

I think so often. I honestly think we are, more than any other community, well equipped to be able to lead a movement. We know uniquely what it’s like to fight for our survival. We know uniquely what it’s like to resist a legal system that’s broken; laws that need to be changed. I think we, again, we don’t have to be followers in this. We don’t have to wait and see. We can actually be leaders because we are equipped to do that.

Canada Goose Outlet Well, in a personal sense, I will never be the same person that I was the night before Pulse. I think, kind of like the Parkland students have felt, it was a little bit of a loss of innocence. I guess I would say it’s a loss of blissful joy. Canada Goose Outlet

Canada Goose Coats On Sale I don’t really have that anymore. I canada goose store mean, I lost the people that gave that to me every single Canada Goose Parka day. I feel like everything I do Canada Goose Outlet is clouded by that experience. In a very personal way, it’s kind of sad. It is a little sad. But in an activist way, in an advocate way, I think it’s also given me new purpose. Part of what happens after a traumatic event like that is you wonder why you’re still here. Canada Goose Coats On Sale

You wonder why you weren’t one of the victims. And you can feel a little purposeless. But in my mind what justification looks like, what justice looks like for my friends, is a world that they could be proud of, a world that would be safer for everybody.

cheap Canada Goose I was really complacent before Pulse happened to be quite honest with buy canada goose jacket cheap you. I was that millennial that was more worried about canada goose avocado toast than who was running for president. What I hope for everyone is that my experience, my getting buy canada goose jacket fired up about things, can leave some runway for other people to get involved before it’s too late, before something horrific happens. cheap Canada Goose

My hope is I can inspire and energize others.

canada goose Since Pulse happened, Canada Goose Jackets and we obviously continue to have these incidents of high scale violence tied to mass shootings and guns, when something like that happens now, do you even have time to process it? Or do you feel like being a professional activist is kind of a way of processing that for you? What is that experience like for you now? canada goose

Well, each experience is still different. Which is interesting, because I don’t know if people realize that. I think when you become an activist, when you start to speak out, people almost see you. They expect you to react first. They’re looking for your insight. What are you feeling? What are you thinking? What should we be doing?

But I still experience every single act of mass violence in a very personal and unique way.

The shooting in Parkland was really painful for me. I don’t know that I’ve felt that level of pain since Pulse, mainly because it was kids. And I could not wrap my head around how children would have to be going through what I’ve gone through over the last now almost two years.

The idea of them waking up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat, the idea of them having nightmares about the people that they lost, the idea of them not being able to go into crowded rooms anymore without looking for the exit that is terrifying to me.

canada goose factory sale And it felt really personal. So in a personal way, I feel those events every single time. What I do like about being able to use my voice, about being able to speak out, is that words have always been very cathartic for me. canada goose factory sale

uk canada goose outlet So it’s very healing for me to talk about things. It’s healing for me to share my opinions and to generate insight into what’s happening. Again, I’m a very forward thinking person. As soon as something happens, yes I’m processing it on a personal level. But I’m also thinking about what can we do differently to make sure that this doesn’t happen to other people. I think in many ways that’s how I end up processing my emotional response is by remaining forward thinking and wondering what can I do to make the world better? What can I do http://www.canadagoosejacketoutlett.com to stop other people from going through this? uk canada goose outlet

cheap canada goose uk What advice do you have for young queer people, or I guess young people in general, who kind of may feel powerless during social and political moments like the one we’re currently in? How can they channel those feelings into tangible action cheap canada goose uk.