--- title: Orlando Shooting: Republican Leader Calls for LGBT Tolerance description: Utah Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox apologized for the way he previously treated gay people and called for more tolerance after the Orlando shooting canonical: https://time.com/4370475/orlando-shooting-vigil-utah-spencer-cox/ author: Katie Reilly article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-06-15T19:55:54.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T22:37:56.636Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Utah Lt. Gov: 'My Heart Has Changed' After Orlando Shooting og:description: Republican leader calls for LGBT tolerance and love og:url: https://time.com/4370475/orlando-shooting-vigil-utah-spencer-cox/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbcd97111dfe2f282/698897fbcd1bba18be7011e7/spencer-cox-orlando-vigil.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: State Debates Gay Non-Discrimination Bill og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Utah Lt. Gov: 'My Heart Has Changed' After Orlando Shooting twitter:description: Republican leader calls for LGBT tolerance and love twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbcd97111dfe2f282/698897fbcd1bba18be7011e7/spencer-cox-orlando-vigil.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Utah Lt. Gov. Says 'My Heart Has Changed' After Orlando Shooting ## Video: ‘I’m Hurting with You’: Families of Past Shootings Speak to Orlando [Watch (HLS stream): ‘I’m Hurting with You’: Families of Past Shootings Speak to Orlando](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/BVEhBG2z.m3u8) (2:20)  _Published 2016-06-14. TIME spoke to families of mass shooting victims - here are their thoughts and prayers for Orlando families_  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Jun 15, 2016 7:55 PM UTC  Utah Lt. Governor Spencer Cox speaks before members of the Utah House and Senate along with several hundred gay and lesbian rights supporters in support of a non-discrimination bill at the Utah State Capitol on February 26, 2014 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Utah Lt. Governor Spencer Cox speaks before members of the Utah House and Senate along with several hundred gay and lesbian rights supporters in support of a non-discrimination bill at the Utah State Capitol on February 26, 2014 in Salt Lake City, Utah.George Frey/Getty Images  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Jun 15, 2016 7:55 PM UTC Speaking at a candlelight vigil for victims of the Sunday [shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando](http://time.com/4368674/orlando-shooting-omar-mateen-2/), Republican Utah Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox apologized for the way he previously treated gay people and called for more tolerance. “May we leave today with a resolve to be a little kinder,” Cox said. “May we try to listen more and talk less. May we forgive someone that has wronged us. And perhaps, most importantly, try to love someone that is different than us. For my straight friends, might I suggest starting with someone who is gay.” Here are his [full remarks](https://medium.com/next-right/tribute-to-orlando-c014acd6fb3f#.pn31b14kn) from the vigil on Monday in Salt Lake City: --- > “” --- **Read more:** [Republicans, Start Saying ‘Gay’ When You Talk About Orlando](http://time.com/4368916/orlando-shooting-republicans-gay/) --- > “” --- ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4370475/orlando-shooting-vigil-utah-spencer-cox/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4370475/orlando-shooting-vigil-utah-spencer-cox/"},"headline":"Utah Lt. Gov. 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