In Filibuster, Peters Eulogizes 2 Michiganders Who Died in Orlando: Watch

Washington, DC — During Wednesday’s Senate filibuster over gun control, U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Township, delivered a stirring tribute to two men with Michigan ties who were among the 49 people who were killed.

Tevin Crosby, 25, of Saginaw, and Christopher Andrew “Drew” Leinonen, 32, who grew up in Metro Detroit, both died when the gunman opened fire at the Pulse nightclub. Dozens more were killed in the deadliest mass shooting in the nation’s history and the worst terror attack on U.S. soil since 2001.

Crosby was born in North Carolina and moved to Michigan after finishing school and started his own marketing business in Saginaw, Total Entrepreneurs Concepts, which handles retail marketing for Fortune 500 companies and employs about 20 people.

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He had traveled to North Carolina to watch several nieces and nephews graduate from high school and made a swing through Florida to visit with friends and colleagues before returning to Michigan.

In a Dec. 31 post on his Facebook page, he wrote that he expected 2016 to be his best year yet.

Drew Leinonen recently won the Anne Frank Humanitarian Award for his work with the gay community. He became an activist early in his life, starting a gay-straight alliance in high school before studying psychology and becoming a licensed mental health counselor.

He and his partner, Juan Guerrero, who also was killed, had been together for about two years.

“Now, instead of potentially helping them plan a wedding one day, their loving families are planning a joint funeral — they want their sons to be side-by-side as their friends and family pay their respects and bid them farewell,” Peters said.

The filibuster led by Sen. Chris Murphy, D-CT, began at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday and ended early Thursday after 15 hours. The filibuster was intended to get Congress to address gun control legislation. The Democrats are calling for two primary legislative measures: universal background checks, or closing the “gun show loophole,” and the prevention of suspected terrorists from buying firearms.

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Peters said the Orlando attack is a “stark reminder that the fight for equality in this nation for LGBT Americans must not end with marriage equality."

“We still live in a nation where Americans can face discrimination — and even be killed — simply because of who they love,” he said. “We cannot tolerate violence that targets any individual based on their gender, sexuality, race or religion.”

“The answer to all of these questions is yes, and I urge my colleagues — and Americans across the country — to resist painting this tragedy in simple, reductive terms,” he said. “This attack was a hate crime. This attack was an act of terrorism. And yes, this attack speaks to the disturbing ease with which dangerous firearms can be acquired in our nation.”

The problems that led to the tragedy are “rare and complex,” Peters said, adding “complexity is not an argument for inaction.”

Watch his speech below.