tv Anderson Cooper 360 CNN June 14, 2016 5:00pm-6:01pm PDT
5:00 pm
thank you so much for watching live from orlando. our coverage continues with anderson cooper live "360." >> certainly our thoughts are with all of these patients as well as with the 49 people and their families who will not be going home to their loved ones and the countless people grappling with that sad reality tonight. over the next two hours you're going to hear from survivors, hear from a mom whose son, drew
5:01 pm
and partner, juan, both were killed. we honor their memories and all the victims as we cover this tragedy. we will not be saying the name of shooter and show you their picture and tell you as much as we know about them. that is where we believe the focus belongs. we are getting information about the killer and that is important to share with you as investigators figure out who he was, why he did what he did and what those closest to him knew him at all. pamela, let's start with you. what are you hearing about the wife? >> law enforcement agents tell us, anderson, that the wife knew her husband wanted to launch a jihadist attack and he expressed interest in doing that and his behavior became more and more violent. she's telling investigators she didn't know about his specific plans to go to pulse nightclub and launch an attack.
5:02 pm
she claims when she found out that he wanted to launch an attack that she tried to dissuade him from doing so and talk him out of it and -- >> but she never called any police. >> reporter: and that is key here. that's what investigators are focused on because that's a felony to know someone wants to commit a crime and not go to federal authorities and tell them, conceal that knowledge. it's a felony. right now as we speak, d.o.j. investigators are trying to build a case to determine whether they can prove she had knowledge of the attack and didn't report it to authorities. it's one thing to know it, even though she was saying she was going to launch an attack and it's another to prove it. she claims she's telling investigators she went to disney springs with him in pulse nightclub -- >> she claims she went to pulse -- >> yes, and went to disney springs, about 20 minutes away from pulse nightclub.
5:03 pm
they're trying to sort out the extent to what she knew of her husband's plans. >> and, drew, what are you learning about the family? >> anderson, the family is very close. the father lives behind me in his house. one of his daughters lives literally down the street from here. they saw each other constantly, maybe one, two, three times a week according to some members of this family, which leads them to believe according to pamela brown that the wife knew something was up. what did the family know? the father insists nothing, other members of the family claim they knew nothing. the father told me the last time he saw his was 3:00 in the afternoon on saturday and he described the visit as a friendly father/son visit as usual. obvious
5:04 pm
obviously investigators are trying to find out what exactly these family members knew or didn't know but they are very, very close. >> pam, you spoke with the sheriff earlier. what did they say? >> reporter: the sheriff told me it was clear the gunman was scoping out several targets in the orlando area, but he made clear this gunman was very familiar with the night club, that it's clear he did preoperational surveillance there and perhaps went there for other reasons and he knew the ins and outs of this night club. what's unclear is why he settled on the nightclub for his target. when he was inside, we know he called 911 and was speaking arabic to the 911 operator and to the sheriff, talking about why he was launching this attack, doing it in the name of allah and so forth. >> one of the people performing at the club said they had seen the gunman there for over the course of three years on and off. have they confirmed that, do you
5:05 pm
know? >> reporter: the fbi is leading the investigation. the sheriff did say the extent to which it's clear he had knowledge and clear he had been there before but he couldn't elaborate on how many times. the patriot rons are the witnes. >> if he'd been there for a three-year period, hard to imagine he would case the joint for three years. >> reporter: exactly. one source said this information certainly changes the perspective. >> they said that? >> reporter: mm-hmm. >> drew, the father had some sort of a television program or internet television program. i read at one point he'd expressed support for the tall ban -- taliban in afghanistan. is that confirmed? >> reporter: that is not true. that seemed to be a mistranslation. he is anti-pakistan. at one point he announced his
5:06 pm
candidacy for the president of afghanistan. he of course was born in afghanistan. his son was born here. but he is heavily involved, at least in his own mind, in the politics of afghanistan, but we didn't see anything from the father that -- on those tapes that showed he was pro-taliban and conversely anti-u.s. he seemed to be coming in from a perspective of a pro-afghan as a country. >> okay. and, pamela, a lot of reporting about -- a number of people have come forward and said that this gunman was on gay apps, on a variety of gay hookup apps. no direct commentary from any of the individuals who have come forward that he was there looking for sex or looking to actually hook up, but, you know, there have been a number of published reports that he was on these for an extended period of time. is law enforcement looking at that? >> fbi is looking into these claims, not only contacting
5:07 pm
these companies but talking to the people who claim he was on the site. now the question is they have to verify the profile, make sure it was actually him. there's a lot of vetting that goes into place. combine that with the information that he guarded this club for several years, it adds a different level of information that wasn't there. >> former assistant director of the u.s. marshal services art bro broderick. as someone who has interviewed jihadists, what stands out to you at this moment? >> i look at it as the worst mass shooting in the modern american history that took place at an intersection between a
5:08 pm
hate crime and terrorism. it is a hate crime because it happened at a venue that is very popular by the lgbt community and it happened at a time that is considered a month of pride for a community that has been discriminated against and persecuted for a long period of time. so if you have look at these two, the place and the time, it's definitely a hate crime. as for the terrorism, the only reason we're discussing terrorism is because allegedly this individual, when he made the call to 911, he pledged allegiance to isis and baghdadi. this is extremely important, it put the terrorism factor high on the list. however, it seems that this individual went through so many, you know, different and complicated -- he has a complicated personality. we have a lot of indications that, you know, he is mentally unstable, he is violent, he is a wife beater, and also at the
5:09 pm
same time, it appears that when it comes to terrorism, he's all over the map. at one point he claimed he is -- >> you are talking about al nusra and hezbollah. >> yeah. isis is totally different from hezbollah and al nusra. he claimed he knew the boston bombers, which is false. you know, he was all over the map. and a lot of the evidence as, you know, we heard pamela before, we really don't know exactly what's going on yet. i prefer to wait for the fbi investigation and for the law enforcement investigation to know exactly what his motive was. it's definitely a hate crime, it's a mass shooting. it is probably inspired terrorism. however, did isis control that? there is no indication of that. did isis order it? there is no indication of that. and i think we have to keep that in mind so far.
5:10 pm
>> i want to bring there art. we mentioned the killer's wife knew he wanted to commit some kind of jihadist act. can she be prosecuted for this? >> the federal conspiracy law is pretty broad. it's relatively easy to prove. when you're looking at conspiracy, if she knew he was going to be doing this act and verbally told her that and then she took him to buy ammunition or to purchase the weapons and got him around to different locations, that falls into the conspiracy, she could be charged. >> even if she didn't know a specific target? >> well, he claimed he was going to go out and kill somebody. even if it's not a specific target. he claimed he was going to commit some violent acts against person or persons. >> i was going to say just on an obvious way to look at this, if your husband is talking about committing radical jihadist acts in the united states and then
5:11 pm
he's taking you out to a gay night club, you put two and two together if you're the wife, i would assume. >> at this point she's talking to the fbi. this might be something that they're telling her she's going to do if she doesn't cooperate. i think that's what we're looking at right now to continue her cooperation, they're telling her they're going to charge her with this conspiracy. >> ali, do you buy the fact that it's possible she had no idea exactly what was going on? i mean, do families -- is there someone usually in a family who has some idea? >> i've seen a lot of cases where people in the family will have an idea, a brother, a sister, a wife, so it's not surprising. it's interesting i just saw on the screen down there that the fbi sources are saying they're not looking at her as co-conspirator. so there are a lot of information out there and i think i will prefer to wait to
5:12 pm
hear an official statement about that but i don't think it's surprising that someone in his family knew about what he wanted to do. >> art, the phone belongs to the gunman said to be now recovered from the club today. obviously if they can open it up and get information from it, that would be a huge source. >> it's always a huge source, any electronic communication device, i'm sure they took it all out of his house, gaming consoles, computer, whatever. >> i talked to one eyewitness who said he was outside the club, said he saw the killer walking around with his cell phone in his hand about an hour or so before the shooting began. >> exactly. plus we have the three 911 calls, the two he placed and the one the dispatcher placed back. that's going to be key information also. >> coming up, an incredible survivor story. jeff rodriguez sent text messages to his family from inside the club, telling them he'd been shot, saying he was
5:13 pm
dying. his family did not hear from him before more than 12 agonizing hours before they finally found out he was indeed alive. jeff's brother joins us to talk about that. and we continue to honor the victims, their names, their faces, their lives. we will not forget. i sleep extremely hot. i wake up and i just feel like sticky. have the windows open, the ac on- i'd close it in the middle of the night. he'd open it in the middle of the night. it was a nightmare. my new tempur-breeze stays cool to the touch. not cold but cool. it naturally adapts to your body and somehow creates the perfect temperature for you. i feel like this was made just for me- like they had me in mind. i don't know how they do that. (vo) sleep cooler, wake more refreshed. discover the new tempur-breeze. hey there, can i help you with anything? hey siri, what's at&t's latest offer? oh, i don't think that siri can...
5:14 pm
right now, switch to at&t for an iphone and get one free. wow, is that right? yeah, it's basically... yes. that is the current offer from at&t. okay siri, you don't know everything. well, i know you asked me to call you the at&t hostess with the mostest. okay, shut her down. turn it off. right now, buy an iphone and get another one free when you add a second line. a farmer's market.ve what's in this kiester. a fire truck. even a marching band. and if i can get comfortable talking about this kiester, then you can get comfortable using preparation h. for any sort of discomfort in yours. preparation h. get comfortable with it. if you have moderate to severe plaque psoriasis isn't it time to let the real you shine through? introducing otezla, apremilast. otezla is not an injection, or a cream. it's a pill that treats plaque psoriasis differently. some people who took otezla saw 75% clearer skin after 4 months.
5:15 pm
and otezla's prescribing information has no requirement for routine lab monitoring. don't take otezla if you are allergic to any of its ingredients. otezla may increase the risk of depression. tell your doctor if you have a history of depression or suicidal thoughts, or if these feelings develop. some people taking otezla reported weight loss. your doctor should monitor your weight and may stop treatment. side effects may include diarrhea, nausea, upper respiratory tract infection, and headache. tell your doctor about all the medicines you take, and if you're pregnant or planning to be. ask your dermatologist about otezla today. otezla. show more of you. real is touching a ray. amazing is moving like one. real is making new friends. amazing is getting this close. real is an animal rescue. amazing is over twenty-seven thousand of them.
5:17 pm
here in orlando many families faced an agonizing wait to find out if their loved ones died in the pulse nightclub shooting, that's includes jeff rodriguez, who was in the club with a bunch of friends when the shooting rang out. "dead bodies on top of me," he texted. tell everyone i love them. his brother texted back "huh"? and his brother thought it was a joke. "not a joke, sante." at 2:42, call mommy, tell her i love her.
5:18 pm
santos. jeff's brother did a google search and realized it did happen. his brother texted back apologizing and the family had to wait 12 hours to see if he survived and thankfully he did. first of all, how is he doing? >> he's still in critical condition at the moment. they're very strict with the visit with him with the way he is right now. he's able to talk, able to move his hands and so forth but he's still -- he has a lot of excruciating pain. >> and he was shot two times? >> three times. >> and are the bullets still inside? >> yes, the two from the neck in here and stomach area. this one landed by the lungs. didn't hit the lungs but it's right near it and the one here by the stomach area is by the
5:19 pm
lumbar. didn't hit the lumbar but right there. >> he was in one of the bathroom stalls, handicap stalls -- >> they were trapped in there. >> there were a lot of people in that stall and some of them never made it out. >> unfortunately, no, some did not make it out. but he did, a few friends did. there were a lot of injured. there have been a few casualties. i know thank good for his friend v. she's in the medical field. if it wasn't for her, i'm 100% positive my brother would have died. >> really? >> if it wasn't for her, she was just putting pressure on the wounds. >> she knew what to do? >> she's in the medical field. she knew what to do, what to tell them and so forth. she was waking up my brother, hey, wake up, wake up, they're coming, they're coming. he's like when are they coming, it's been forever? she said you have to wait, the bomb squad is searching the
5:20 pm
area. and he said i can't. she said wake up. his friend angel was trying to wake him up, come on, jeff, you have to wake up, wake up. >> it's so critical to not let somebody drift off. >> yeah, you don't want them drifting off at this moment. >> i can't imagine what this was like for you when you realize the text messages are real. >> my heart sank. i was like god forgive me, i believe him. i keep telling myself i believe you now, i believe you now, i hope you can hear me. i was talking to myself i hope you believe me. i texted him put pressure on the wound, hopefully can you hear this, read this, put pressure on the wound and tie it up with a shirt if you have something and just sit tight. >> what's your brother like? >> he's like outgoing, funny, crazy, joking, loving person. always about family and friends. he loves 80's free style music.
5:21 pm
he loves dancing. dancing's his life. he's a huge fan of x-men. everything about him is all loveable. you can't go wrong with the guy. he meet people and they become friends and friends become family. that's the time of person he is. >> i know you and your dad both wanted to thank the hospital and all the folks who are working really hard. >> yes, we want to thank the hospital, the staff there, the police. we want to thank everyone around, cops, everything. like it's just all the stuff they put in, all the hours. and people bring in food, people that donated blood. my brother took a lot of blood. that helped a lot. helped him and helped a lot of people. >> please give your family our best and i know you're thinking about everyone. >> those folks who didn't make it, my heart goes out to those families. >> appreciate it. >> thank you. >> we're going to have a lot more tonight over the next two hours.
5:22 pm
president obama ripping donald trump and trump firing back tonight at a conference in north carolina. the policy of extremism when we return. we got you covered. nice to meet you! today we're going to talk about the all-new 2016 chevy cruze, but here's the catch. you're only going to answer me in emojis. so, this cruze has built-in 4g lte wifi® with 24 gigs of data. wow. (message sent sfx) strong! it also comes with 24 months of siriusxm satellite radio. (message sent sfx) like, word, chevy. that's the way to go. pick the one emoji that sums up the car. a crystal ball... i can see the future. that was deep.
5:23 pm
i'm in charge of it all. business expenses, so i've been snapping photos of my receipts and keeping track of them in quickbooks. now i'm on top of my expenses, and my bees. best 68,000 employees ever. that's how we own it. wannwith sodastreamter? you turn plain water into sparkling water in seconds. and because it's so delicious, you'll drink 43% more water every day. sodastream. love your water.
5:24 pm
and an early morning mode.ode. and a partly sunny mode. and an outside... to clear inside mode. transitions® signature adaptive lenses... ...are more responsive than ever. so why settle for a lens with just one mode? experience life well lit®. ...upgrade your lenses to transitions® signature. now get up to a $90 rebate by mail. when you purchase glasses and sunglasses featuring select brands. ask your eyecare professional or visit transitions.com for details.
5:25 pm
and i'm mad as hell about drug registpricing.se... tovote for the california druger toprice relief act. eed. s. my name is jamir dixon and i'm a locafor pg&e.rk fieldman most people in the community recognize the blue trucks as pg&e. my truck is something new... it's an 811 truck. when you call 811, i come out to your house and i mark out our gas lines and our electric lines to make sure that you don't hit them when you're digging. 811 is a free service. i'm passionate about it because every time i go on the street i think about my own kids. they're the reason that i want to protect our community and our environment, and if me driving a that truck means that somebody gets to go home safer, then i'll drive it every day of the week. together, we're building a better california.
5:26 pm
of course this terror attack struck orlando in the heat of a contentious presidential election and tonight the sparks continue to fly. here's what donald trump said a short time ago in greensboro, north carolina. >> and i watched president obama today, and he was more angry at me than he was at the shooter. and many people said that. [ crowd boos ] one of the folks on television said, boy, has trump gotten under his skin, but he was more angry, and a lot of people have said this, the level of anger, that's the kind of anger he should have for the shooter and these killers that shouldn't be here. [ applause ] >> donald trump was referring to president obama's fiery takedown today of donald trump, who has been slamming president obama's national security policies and criticizing him for not using the afraid radical islam.
5:27 pm
trump has also suggested president obama is somehow sympathetic to terrorists. here's how the president hit back. >> if the implication is that those of us up here and the thousands of people around the country and around the world are working to defeat isil aren't taking the fight seriously, that would come as a surprise to those who spent these last seven and a half years dismantling al qaeda and the fatah. they know full well who the enemy is. so do the intelligence and law enforcement officers who spent countless hours disrupting plots and protecting all americans, including politicians who tweet. and appear on cable news shows. they know who the nature of the enemy is. so there's no magic to the phrase radical islam. it's a political talking point.
5:28 pm
it's not a strategy. >> president obama did not stop there. he had a lot more to say about donald trump without ever actually mentioning the candidate by name. dana bash tonight reports. >> we are now seeing how dangerous this kind of mindset and this kind of thinking can be. >> reporter: a rhetorical explosion rare for any president, especially one who prides himself on keeping calm. >> we now have proposals from the presumptive republican nominee for president of the united states to bar all muslims from emigrating to america. we hear language that singles out immigrants and suggests entire religious communities are complicit in violence. where does this stop? >> reporter: tearing into donald trump with visible anger and disgust. >> that's not the america we
5:29 pm
want. it doesn't reflect our democratic ideals. it won't make us more safe. it will make us less safe. >> reporter: the power of his words amplified by the stage craft, a commander in chief, co standing with his top military officer, a four-star general. >> we acted out of fear before and we came to regret it. we don't have religious tests here. our founders, our constitution, our bill of rights are clear about that. and if we ever abandon those values, we would not only make it a lot easier to radicalize people here and around the world, but we would have betrayed the very things we are trying to protect. >> reporter: and what really got him going, the gop refrain that he's weak on terrorism because he refuses to use the term
5:30 pm
radical islam. >> there has not been a moment in my seven and a half years as president where we have not been able to pursue a strategy because we didn't use the label radical islam. not once has an adviser of mine said, man, if we really used that phrase, we're going to turn this whole thing around. not once. so someone seriously thinks that we don't know who we're fighting? >> reporter: all that as the candidate obama endorsed delivered a more measured approach to the same message. >> he is fixated on the words radical islam. i find this strange. is donald trump suggesting that there are magic words once uttered will stop terrorists from coming after us? >> reporter: hillary clinton continues to use trump's
5:31 pm
response to the orlando massacre to define him as too volatile for the white house. >> yesterday morning, just one day after the massacre, he went on tv and suggested that president obama is on the side of the terrorists. now just think about that for a second. even in a time of divided politics, this is way beyond anything that should be said by someone running for president of the united states. >> dana bash joins me now look with cnn political analyst david gergen. how unprecedented is it for a president not up for reelection to be so engaged with the presumptive nominee of the republican party and where do we go from here? >> we've broken another
5:32 pm
precedent. after 9/11 there was unity for seven or eight weeks. our politicians weren't attacking each other, they were pulling together and trying to fight the enemy. here it's just the opposite. i think a lot of americans are dismayed by this. i think we are going to have a savage campaign. on the merits, i think president obama has the upper hand and enjoys the support of most americans as he oppose as ban on all muslims entering the country and very important the top leadership of the republican party and congress is again the ban. paul ryan has spoken out against it repeatedly. in that issue i think the president is in a strong position. on the issue of calling it radical islam, i think it runs the other way. a great number of americans feel -- our leadership is tiptoeing around by not calling what it is what it is. back in the early 1980s i was
5:33 pm
working for tried to decide whether he should call the enemy the evil enemy. i didn't think he should and he did and i think it clarified. hillary clinton said if we want to use the phrase radical islam, that's okay with me. i think donald trump actually has a point, an argument on that, even though he does it excessively. >> right. i mean, i guess -- again, i'm not arguing one way or another, but to play devil's advocate, i guess what president obama is saying, it's not a question of calling isis or isil evil but it's linking it to islam. his point i guess is he doesn't believe or he doesn't want to paint it with the same brush as islam for strategic reasons i'm assuming. >> well, i can't tell why.
5:34 pm
he started saying we can't be against -- we can't declare war against islam. that's not a declaration against islam. it is to say that there are sick people -- and they're radicals. why are we tiptoeing around that? >> and the president explicitly said today, forgive me, that it is part of the strategy to not allow people to use that term to their benefit and to continue to foment and stoke the -- sort of the anti-american sentiment that is already out there. >> you know, dana, on another issue donald trump continues to say he's a much bigger supporter, a much better friend of the lesbian, gay, bisexual
5:35 pm
transgender community. he says publicly he doesn't support it, he said he disagrees with the supreme court. it's not just him. a number of politics that have strong positions against equal rights for gay citizens to marry who now seem to be very front and center talking about their concern for the well being of gay people under the thumb of islamic radicals. >> when donald trump gave the speech yesterday, there was so much in there that was, you know, intense and that was aggressive and that was of course much like the kind of tone and tenor he took during the campaign. the one thing that did really make me almost fall off my chair was for the first time to hear a republican candidate for president, never mind the potential -- the presumptive nominee, saying that people should love who they want to love and live how they want to live. it's just the rhetoric alone is
5:36 pm
new. but when it comes to the policy, you're dead right. it doesn't look like he is going to support any time soon policies that would be in line with allowing for gay rights, just the opposite. in terms of his personal life and his personal beliefs, as you said, he's attended gay weddings. he is known to have many gay friends. i think if you kind of gave him a lie detector test and said what do you really think about gay rights, he would probably say i think it's just fine but now he happens to be a republican running as a republican, a nominee for president so policy-wise he's not there. >> which is interesting, david. voters will have to make up their minds whether they want a politician who really does -- if they are opposed to equal rights for gays and lesbians and equal marriage, whether they want a
5:37 pm
politician who does secretly support a ban on gay weddings or a republican who does support it and really live what they said. >> donald trump also supported gays with regard to the transgender issue supporting bathroom issues and that sort of thing and that surprised a lot of people. there's no question, the lgbt community is very suspicious of donald trump. had when he gets up and says i'm the friend of women here, women by 70% say, no, you're not, and hillary is. we shouldn't discourage him from embracing gay rights. >> he's also defied all thus far. i think we have to leave it there. we have breaking political news to tell you about. cnn will project that hillary clinton has won the washington d.c. primary. democratic voters casting their ballots in d.c. today. clinton is about to meet with
5:38 pm
bernie sanders this evening. my interview with florida attorney general pam bondi, i asked her how she says she supports the lgbt community when her record says otherwise. plus two young men planning on getting married, they died instead in the orlando shooting. we want to learn as much as we can about these two young men who died together. to our broker.e you how much does he charge? i don't know. okay. uh, do you get your fees back if you're not happy? (dad laughs) wow, you're laughing. that's not the way the world works. well, the world's changing. are you asking enough questions about the way your wealth is managed? wealth management, at charles schwab. fact. there's an advil specially made for fast relief that goes to work in minutes. the only advil with a rapid release formula
5:39 pm
for rapid relief of tough pain. look for advil film-coated in the white box! relief doesn't get any faster than this. advil. for crash survival, subaru has developed ours most revolutionary feature yet. a car that can see trouble and stop itself to avoid it. when the insurance institute for highway safety tested front crash prevention nobody beat subaru models with eyesight. not toyota. not ford or any other brand. subaru eyesight. an extra set of eyes, every time you drive. wi probably got that question 3 to 4 times a week. i'd always get asked if i was asian or moroccan or something else. so i jumped at the chance to take the dna test through ancestry. and my results ended up being african, european and asian. it just confirmed what i guess people had seen in me all my life. i do feel like ancestry helped give me a sense of identity.
5:40 pm
"what are you?" now i know. discover the story only your dna can tell. order your kit now at ancestrydna.com working my canister off to clean and shine... and give proven protection... against fading and aging. he won't use those copycat wipes. hi...doing anything later? the quiet type. i like that. armor all original protectant. don't be dull. (mamost of the show. we missed (woman) and there's no way to restart it. (jon bon jovi) with directv there is. ♪ you see, we've got the power to turn back time ♪ ♪ so let's restart the show that started at nine ♪ ♪ and while we're at it, let's give you back your 'do ♪ ♪ and give her back the guy she liked before you ♪ ♪ hey, that's the power to turn back time. ♪ (vo) get the ultimate all-included bundle. call 1-800-directv.
5:42 pm
5:43 pm
community don't feel that's inclusive. >> my goal is to make the state as inclusive as i can. and i work with people all across our state to do that every day. >> over the past three days, frankly, a lot of people have been publicly expressing their support for the lgbt community, including florida attorney general pam bondi. frankly that surprised a lot of gay and lesbian people here in the state because it simply doesn't track with her record. i asked her about it earlier today. i want to ask you, you saw you the other day saying that anyone who attacks the lbgt community -- our lbgt community you said will be gone after with the full extent of the law. >> that's exactly right. >> i talked to a lot of gay and lesbian people here yesterday who said you are being a hypocrite, you have gone to court saying people fighting for equality were trying to induce
5:44 pm
public harm i believe was the term you used in court. do you really think you're a champion of gate community? >> let me tell you, when i was sworn in as attorney general, i put my hand on the bible and sworn in to uphold the constitution of the state of florida. that's not a law. that was voted in by our state constitution by the voters of florida. that's what i was defending. it had nothing to do -- i never said i don't like gay people. that's ridiculous. >> but you use language, accusing people trying to do harm to the people of florida. doesn't that send a message to some people who might have bad ideas in their mind? >> anderson, i don't believe gay people could do harm -- >> but you argued that in court. >> my lawyer argued a face defending what the supreme court allowed the voters to put in our state constitution. >> but you were arguing if there was gay marriage, if there was same-sex marriage that, would do harm to the people of florida. >> that it was constitutional to put that in the constitution.
5:45 pm
>> are you saying you do not believe it would not do harm to florida? >> of course not. i've never said that. >> that is specifically what you were arguing in court. >> no, no. what we argued is it was in the constitution of the state of florida. let me give you an example. medical marijuana. a 12-year-old could get it if it passed. we took that to the supreme court because of that language. but if that passed, arei would defend that as well because it's my job to defend what's in the constitution of the state of florida. that's what it was about. >> the hotline that you've been talking about on tell vevision t allows family members and spouses of the dead to get information, which is very important. had there been no gay marriage, you do realize there would be no spouses, that boy friends and girl friends of the dead would not be able to get information and not even be able to visit in the hospital here.
5:46 pm
isn't there a sick irony? that? >> let me take it a step farther. people aren't right now who are partners and aren't married officially aren't able to get information. so we're trying to assist them in getting information because early on -- >> but for years you were fighting that very idea? >> i was defending the constitution of what's over 69% of the voters put in the constitution. >> but the courts, the federal courts said that not the constitution and you continued to fight it. >> no, that's why we rushed to get it to the u.s. supreme court. >> before the supreme court, there was a federal judge and you continued to fight it after the federal judge ruled and you spent hundreds of thousands of dollars of taxpayer dollar fighting it. >> anderson, we rushed to get it to the supreme court. you know what today is about? it's about victims. >> gay and lesbian victims.
5:47 pm
>> it sure is, lgbt victims. >> i saw you tweeting about national dog month and national shelter dog appreciation day or adopt a sheltered dog month. you know, it is gay pride month. you never even tweeted about gay pride month. >> actually, if you look at my web site now, we have hands clasped together, all different color rainbow hands. >> so you just put that up now? >> yeah, i did, after this horrible tragedy. the only thing i'm championing is human lives were lost. >> moving forward do you see yourself as being a vocal champion for gay and lesbian citizens in this state? >> they are citizens just like anyone else, of course. my goodness, anderson, we've had 49 people murdered simply because they were in a bar at the wrong time. that's horrible. i'm a career prosecutor. these family members of devastated. >> it's good to hear.
5:48 pm
>> these surviving victims are devastated. that's what this is about. >> a lot of gay and lesbian want to feel the people who represent them represent everybody in the state. >> we're human beings. that's what this is about. >> thank you so much. thanks for all you're doing on behalf of the victims. a footnote by the way, we checked miss bondi's political and official web site and so far we haven't been able to find the hands clasped in rainbow colors. if someone in her office would point out where to find the image, we'll let people know about it. just ahead, two men planning a future to the when their dreams were cut short early sunday morning. what their families want people to remember about them.
5:49 pm
thisproof of less joint pain and clearer skin. this is my body of proof that i can fight psoriatic arthritis with humira. humira works by targeting and helping to block a specific source of inflammation that contributes to both joint and skin symptoms. it's proven to help relieve pain, stop further joint damage, and clear skin in many adults. humira is the number #1 prescribed biologic for psoriatic arthritis. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened, as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. before treatment, get tested for tb. tell your doctor if you've been to areas where certain fungal infections are common, and if you've had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections,
5:50 pm
or have flu-like symptoms or sores. don't start humira if you have an infection. want more proof? ask your rheumatologist about humira. what's your body of proof? wannwith sodastreamter? you turn plain water into sparkling water in seconds. and because it's so delicious, you'll drink 43% more water every day. sodastream. love your water. before it became a medicine, it was an idea. an inspiration. a wild "what-if." so scientists went to work. they examined 87 different protein structures.
5:51 pm
had 12 years of setbacks and breakthroughs, 4,423 sleepless nights, and countless trips back to the drawing board. at first they were told no, well... maybe, and finally: yes. then it was 36 clinical trials, 8,500 patient volunteers, and the hope of millions. and so after it became a medicine, someone who couldn't be cured, could be. me. ♪
5:52 pm
5:53 pm
they were deeply in love, they hoped to get married. that dream was destroyed early sunday morning, and now their families are planning funerals. drew's mom, christine, joins me now. thank you so much for being here. how -- what do you want people to know about your son? >> i want people to know that he was a genuinely great person. he was fun, he was happy, he was orlando's child. >> he started a gay/straight alliance, right, when he was a kid? >> when he was in high school, he started a gay/straight alliance and he won the anna franc humanitarian award and they had a big ceremony and i was very proud of him for that. >> and he and juan were talking about marriage? >> well, they were madly in love in a way that i've never seen
5:54 pm
him, you know, over the past 15 years. he's had, you no, boyfriends for a duration of one year, six years i think, i'll say one of his former boyfriends is actually being my right-hand man right now for me while i'm waiting for my family from up north. but, yeah, he -- and he loved -- of course he loved every man that he had a relationship with of course, but he loved juan in a -- in a -- that special kind of way and look and -- >> you could tell. >> oh, yeah, definitely. >> that he was the one. there's a lot of, you know, people i know who were in that club who in some cases their parents didn't even know and maybe weren't supportive. there was one young man whose
5:55 pm
parents just learned and they were supportive of him. you were supportive early on. >> well, i was supportive but not directly. i didn't know -- i didn't want to do the wrong thing so i just let him live his life and -- >> come to you in his own time. >> yes. and we just kept up the facade, the unspoken -- >> you found out in ninth grade on your own he was gay but he didn't tell you right away. >> and then he starts the gay/straight alliance and we saw him kissing his boyfriend saying good-bye, you know, we know that -- >> something's up. >> yeah. and they were cool together. they were like teen-agers with their first loves, they're going to be goofy. sometimes you don't know if they're just being goofy because you done want to say, hey, are you this? and then you're the weird,
5:56 pm
creepy parent like you want to be the cool parent but you're really just the creepy parent. you don't know because kids who aren't even heterosexual but they're a teen-age girl and a teen-age boy, they kiss each other and hug each other like you'd think they're dating or something but they're just friends. >> where does your strength come from? you're smiling, you're able to talk about your son. i think there's a lot of people -- >> because i love him. i could be sad and i have incredibly sad moments and i could be angry and i've been given license to be angry for different types of treatments, but when you want to know about the love and the love is going to usurp the hate. >> and you feel that love? >> oh, i feel that love with christopher, with his friends, with you, with the orlando community. christopher was orlando's child,
5:57 pm
even though i gave birth to him, orlando is now the adoptive mother because she made christopher feel feel the love and acceptance. he went away to school. are you sure you don't want to stay? >> no, no, i want to go to orlando to ucf. he came here to orlando. he went to undergrad here, he went to ucf grad school, he stayed here after grad school. he loved orlando. he loved orlando. >> well, he was incredibly lucky to have you as a mom. >> i was -- my luck started when i gave birth to my son. >> christine, thank you so much for talking to us. appreciate it. >> thank you.
5:58 pm
thank you, dear. >> we'll take a quick break. our special coverage from orlando continues in just a moment. if you have moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis, and you're talking to your doctor about your medication... this is humira. this is humira helping to relieve my pain and protect my joints from further damage. this is humira helping me go further. humira works for many adults. it targets and helps to block a specific source of inflammation that contributes to ra symptoms. doctors have been prescribing humira for over 13 years. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis.
5:59 pm
serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened, as have blood, liver and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. before treatment, get tested for tb. tell your doctor if you've been to areas where certain fungal infections are common, and if you've had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flu-like symptoms or sores. don't start humira if you have an infection. ready for a new chapter? talk to your rheumatologist. this is humira at work. [so i use quickbooks and run mye entire business from the cloud. i keep an eye on sales and expenses from anywhere. even down here in the dark i can still see we're having a great month. and celebrate accordingly. i run on quickbooks.that's how i own it.
189 Views
IN COLLECTIONS
CNN (San Francisco)Uploaded by TV Archive on
![](http://athena.archive.org/0.gif?kind=track_js&track_js_case=control&cache_bust=1892796992)