Remembering Pulse nightclub victims: Gays Against Guns calls for gun reform
MANHATTAN, N.Y. (PIX11) — The New York City community honored the victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting Wednesday night, marking eight years since the tragedy in Orlando, Florida.
The mass shooting remains one of the deadliest attacks on the LGBTQ community in history. New Yorkers honored the victims with action as they push for gun reform legislation.
With heavy hearts, members of the organization Gays Against Guns stood as representations of the 49 souls lost at Pulse during the New York City vigil Wednesday. Each person was dressed in white and carried pictures of the victims, embodying a life gone too soon.
“This year especially, it’s important to remember that hate kills,” said Gays Against Guns President Jay W. Walker. “The kind of bigotry that a lot of these people out there are espousing leads to violence against LGBTQ people, and that’s what happened at Pulse.”
The somber vigil culminated in a silent procession at Christopher Street Pier just steps away from the historic site of the Stonewall Inn riots. Organizers paid tribute to the victims of the horrific act of violence in Orlando that killed 49 people and injured 53 others in 2016. Virginia Vitzthum is a member of Gays Against Guns, which formed days after the mass shooting out of grief and outrage.
“We saw an intersection of attacks on gay people and gun violence,” Vitzthum said. “That queer people are killed more by a gun than other people, and it made sense for gay people to be a voice in the gun violence protection fight.”
The vigil was more than just a moment of remembrance but also a rallying cry for continued advocacy in the fight for gun reform legislation.
“To make sure that people who have been diagnosed with tendencies towards violence are not able to get access to guns,” Walker said. “There’s a lot that needs to be done.”
Organizers are hoping the vigil can be a testament to the strength and unity of the LGBTQ community as they work towards a future where senseless gun violence has no place.
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