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FILE - In this Sunday, June 12, 2016 file photo, Mayor Buddy Dyer, center right, and then-Police Chief John Mina, center left, arrive for a news conference after the mass shooting at the Pulse Orlando nightclub in Orlando, Fla. Mina, now the Orange County, Fla., sheriff, says after the attack, police officers were equipped with another layer of body armor that stops rifle rounds. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Members of central Florida's congressional delegation are introducing legislation that would designate as a national memorial the gay nightclub where 49 people were massacred three years ago by a supporter of the Islamic State.
U.S. Reps. Darren Soto and Stephanie Murphy said Monday at a ceremony outside the former nightclub that the designation will preserve and protect Pulse nightclub for future generations and give it the federal recognition it deserves.
Pulse owner Barbara Poma has established a nonprofit to open a memorial and museum at the site.
Monday's ceremony was interrupted briefly by the mother of Christopher "Drew" Leinonen, who was killed at the nightclub. Christine Leinonen began shouting at Poma when she came to the speaker's podium.
Afterward, Leinonen says she blames Poma for inadequate security at the nightclub.
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