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Father of Orlando Victim Refuses to Claim Son's Body

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The story highlights how much hate the LGBTQ+ community faces, not only from armed killers, but from family members as well.

As the 49 Orlando victims were properly identified and released to next of kin, one body--whose identity has been withheld out of respect--was unclaimed.

Orlando Latino reports that the father of this particular victim, who was Puerto Rican, did not want to claim his child's remains out of shame over his son's homosexuality. After a period of convincing, the body was eventually released to Orlando-based relatives and has since been buried.

The article goes on to highlight the long fight to recognize gay rights in Puerto Rico, where a culture of homophobia still largely pervades. For instance, gay marriage only reached the island's shores 10 months after its passage stateside due to a referendum from a San Juan district court that claimed the Supreme Court's decision did not apply to Puerto Rico.

Still, Pride was celebrated in San Juan this weekend, with special attention paid to the victims in Orlando, almost half of whom were of Puerto Rican descent.

Advocate Channel - The Pride StoreOut / Advocate Magazine - Fellow Travelers & Jamie Lee Curtis

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