ACROSS THE COUNTRY -- COMMUNITIES HONOR THE LIVES TAKEN ON JUNE 12, 2016 IN THE PULSE TRAGEDY: Yesterday, one year after the Pulse Nightclub shooting, HRC and a broad coalition of organizations joined Equality Florida’s #HonorThemWithAction campaign to pay tribute to the 49 people whose lives were taken on that terrible Sunday morning with vigils across the nation. Orlando and the Pulse Nightclub held observances as part of an Orlando United Day, including an evening vigil at Lake Eola Park that HRC President Chad Griffin attended. At HRC headquarters, staff observed a moment of silence at noon, when church bells across the country tolled 49 times for those killed in Orlando. More from Mashable.

• Dear Orlando: A photo series from photographer Daymon Gardner features survivors, family members and first responders recounting their experiences at the Pulse shooting. More from BuzzFeed.
• In a powerful HRC video, Angel Colon, a survivor of the shooting and avid jogger and Zumba instructor, shares his path to recovery. More from HRC and San Diego LGBT Weekly.

• Ramsés Tinoco, another survivor of the shooting, spoke to HRC about the difficult months following the attack. Thanks to professional and family support, Tinoco has resumed his graduate studies and is now writing a book that tells his life story and talks about the fear of living authentically. More from HRC.
• One year after the Pulse nightclub shooting, HRC partnered with social media influencers Raymond Braun and Tyler Oakley in Orlando to visit survivors of the shooting, families of victims and the local LGBTQ community. More from HRC.
• Yesterday, Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) honored the 49 lives stolen in the Pulse shooting on the Senate Floor. More from NowThis.

America's first openly gay senator has a message for Trump on the anniversary of the Pulse shooting pic.twitter.com/xzmoBo7rI9

— NowThis (@nowthisnews) June 12, 2017

ADDRESSING GUN VIOLENCE AGAINST THE LGBTQ COMUNITY: During an appearance on NPR’s 1A hosted by WAMU’s Joshua Johnson (@JeJohnson322), HRC’s JoDee Winterhof, senior vice president for policy and political affairs, spoke about Pulse, violence targeting the LGBTQ community -- including the epidemic of violence against transgender women of color, and HRC’s Summer of Action efforts to resist efforts to undo progress our community has made. She pointed to a new study confirming that 2016 was the deadliest year on record for the LGBTQ community, and spoke about HRC’s support for commonsense gun safety reform -- including limiting access to assault-style rifles, expanding background checks and limiting the ability of suspected terrorists and those with a history of domestic abuse to access guns. Listen to the discussion at 1A.

• In a letter to the editor in USA Today, HRC President Chad Griffin said the Weekend of Action -- from Pride parades to Sunday’s Equality March in D.C. and #ResistMarch in Los Angeles -- “was the first step of a long march to take our country back. Now our mission is to keep going until we restore sanity and civility, and realize the dream of full equality under the law.” Read more at USA Today.

TUESDAY TWEETS: Angel Colon joined HRC for a Twitter takeover, sharing his day-to-day work to recover from the injuries he sustained in the shooting, the love and support he received from the community and his work to honor those whose lives were stolen in the shooting with action.

The immense support from my community & cities across the country has also been a huge help for me - Angel #HRCTwitterTakeover

— HumanRightsCampaign (@HRC) June 12, 2017

DEVOS’ COMMENTS SIGNAL DEPT OF ED WILL NOT FOLLOW FEDERAL LAW: In an Inside Higher Ed piece by Andrew Kreighbaum (@Kreighbaum), HRC Legal Director Sarah Warbelow called Education Secretary Betsy Devos’ refusal to rule out using taxpayer funds for private schools that discriminate  “a wink and a nod to schools across the country that the Department of Education does not actually intend to fully enforce federal law.” Warbelow’s comments come in the wake of last week’s Senate Appropriations Subcommittee hearing during which DeVos astoundingly refused again to say whether she would deny federal school voucher funds to private schools that discriminate against LGBTQ people. More from Inside Higher Ed.

SAME-SEX COUPLES ARE STILL FIGHTING FOR EQUALITY ON BIRTH CERTIFICATES: Anti-LGBTQ laws in Indiana and Arkansas are making it difficult for same-sex couples to both be listed on the birth certificate of children conceived through artificial insemination. More from The Huffington Post.

JARED POLIS ANNOUNCES GUBERNATORIAL RUN: Rep. Polis (D-CO), who was the first openly gay parent in Congress, announced he will run for governor of Colorado. As a member of the U.S. House, Polis has consistently earned a perfect score on HRC’s Congressional Scorecard. More from The Denver Post.

BE THE PERSON YOU NEEDED WHEN YOU WERE YOUNG: At a time when one in three LGBTQ young people don’t know who to turn to when they have a personal problem, Team USA duathlete and VP for Program Development at You Can Play Chris Mosier is working to mentor the upcoming generation of LGBTQ atheletes. More from The Atlantic.

TODAY -- JANET MOCK RELEASES NEWEST BOOK: Transgender trailblazer Janet Mock’s latest book, Surpassing Certainty, is being released today. More from Windy City Times.

READING RAINBOW 

GOOD Magazine ranks 19 protest signs from Pride celebrations; Total Pro Sports shares adorable footage from the kiss cam during the LA Dodger’s LGBTQ Night; South Bend Tribune takes a look at a local photo exhibit celebrating LGBTQ history;

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