After Christine Leinonen, Brandon Wolf and Jose Arraigada took the stage at the Democratic National Convention, they brought the busy and loud convention floor to silence. Christine Leinonen is the mother of Christopher “Drew” Leinonen, who was killed in the Pulse attack in Orlando. Brandon Wolf and Jose Arraigada are survivors of the attack at the nightclub in Orlando.
While neither Wolf nor Arraigada spoke, a visibly emotional Leinonen captivated the crowd with her quiet address.
“Christopher was my only child. As I used to tell him, you can’t do better than perfect,” she told the room. “Christopher’s paternal grandparents met and fell in love in a Japanese internment camp so it was in his DNA that love always trumps hate.”
Leinonen used her time in front of the Party’s delegates to advocate for stronger gun control laws and endorse Hillary Clinton in honor of her son.
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Watch the address below.