Mother of Orlando victim, Christopher Leinonen, stands up to rapturous applause at the Human Rights Campaign National Dinner

At yesterday’s Human Rights Campaign National Dinner, mother of the late Christopher Leinonen who was killed in the Pulse Nightclub shootings, Christine Leinonen, spoke to a supportive crowd.

A tearful Leinonen begins after cheers and applause from the attendees.

“My son Christopher, his boyfriend Jaun, and 47 others were murdered at the Pulse nightclub,” Christine Leinonen said.

“And as I used to tell him, you can’t do any better than perfect. In high school Christopher won the Anne Frank Humanitarian Award for starting the Gay Straight Alliance and he was a supporter of the Human Rights Campaign.”

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“Christopher was a proud gay man, and I couldn’t have loved him more,” Christopher’s mother told those at the HRC dinner.

“Christopher lost his voice much too young, but I didn’t lose mine. And you all didn’t lose your voices either.”

“You were his community and you were Juan’s community and you were the community of the forty seven others who lost their lives in Orlando that night.”

“Please join me in being their voices now. Please let the memories of Christopher and Juan and all of those we lost in Orlando guide us every day to stop the hate and to be a force of good in the world.”

Watch the video below: