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Pulse Nightclub Shooting Survivor Says He Is No Longer Gay, Has Found Christ

"The enemy had its grip, and now God has taken me from that moment and has given me Christ," he posted on Facebook

A survivor of the June 2016 mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, that left 49 people dead now says he has found Christ and is no longer gay, NBC News reported

“I should have been number 50!,” Luis Javier Ruiz said in a message posted to Facebook. “Going through old pictures of the night of Pulse, I remember my struggles of perversion, heavy drinking to drown out everything and having promiscuous sex that led to HIV. My struggles were real! The enemy had its grip, and now God has taken me from that moment and has given me Christ.”

Ruiz shared this revelation just ahead of the Freedom March, to be held May 5 in Washington, NBC News reported. The event bills itself as a “celebration of freedom from homosexuality and transgenderism” and is organized by Voice of the Voiceless, a group with religious ties who says its mission is “to defend the rights of former homosexuals, individuals with unwanted same-sex attraction, and their families,” according to its website.

The controversial practice of trying to change one’s sexual orientation or gender identity is often referred to as “conversion therapy.” A long list of health organizations have spoken out against the medically debunked practice.

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