A gay couple that lost their lives in the Orlando shooting will be getting a joint funeral in order to be together in the afterlife as they were during their lives. The families of the two men always considered that their love was a reason for celebration, not shame.
Christopher “Drew” Leinonen and Juan Ramon Guerrero were deeply in love. The 32 years old and the 22 years old were proud of their sexual orientation, and so were their families.
The couple already had a tradition of visiting each other’s parents for the holidays. They were dating for over two years and sharing a home.
“They were honestly so in love. They were soul mates. You can tell by how they looked at each other,” Guerrero’s 24 years old sister declared.
According to Guerrero’s father, a wedding was impeding. Now, instead of walking down the aisle, the two will be lowered in their graves together at the joint funeral that their families are organizing.
The Guerrero family learned of the death of their son early on Sunday. The Leinonen were made to wait until Monday until they received any kind of news. They were still clinging to the thought that he was hiding somewhere, or at least he was wounded, not dead.
Christopher Leinonen and Juan Ramon Guerrero were an item for a couple of years. They were two out of the fifty individuals murdered in cold blood by US citizen Omar Mateen, a Florida resident that fell prey to the temptations of ISIS.
An additional 53 people were shot on Sunday night. Some of the hospitalized victims are in critical status. Doctors are still hopeful that the total number of deaths will remain at 50, and all of the other victims will make a full recovery.
The Orlando Shooting is the biggest shooting that ever took place on the territory of the United States. The tragedy got the attention of social media users almost instantly, sparking the use of a new hashtag, PrayForOrlando.
Some activists are using the example of this tragedy as a way to underline the fact that America has a big gun problem. The groups advised the citizens that instead of praying, they should be protesting for better and harsher gun regulations.
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