The full details of the Orlando shooting at a gay nightclub have yet to emerge, and they’ve already raised questions about terrorism, hate crimes, and mass shootings. “Because the reason that violence against queer and trans people is accepted is because of all the little things that make it known that being gay is not OK, that being gay is a punchline, that being gay is an insult, that being gay is bad”. WBHM’s Esther Ciammachili spoke with Eva Walton Kendrick of the Human Rights Campaign of Alabama, an LGBTQ advocacy group.
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Members of the LGBT community say they haven’t experienced any hate issues in Sioux City thus far.
What emotions are felt around the LGBTQ as they go through the Orlando shooting? Metropolitan Community Church will be there and provide spiritual guidance to honor the victims, their families, friends and all of us impacted by this act of terror and hate.
Buege is one of hundreds planning to attend a vigil Tuesday night at Rascals in Appleton, to support the LGBTQ community and remember the victims in Orlando. “The event will allow us to grieve, to lift one another up and to demonstrate that we are, indeed, stronger when we stand together”, said Chapel Hill Mayor Pam Hemminger, in a statement. For many of us whose sexualities and genders don’t fall within the narrow band of cisgender and straight, nightlife and the music surrounding it – from punk and goth clubs to rave and disco floors – have traditionally opened up chances for us to connect with our bodies through movement, and to connect with others through shared goal, love, and intention.
At least 50 people were killed and more than 50 others wounded, when Omar Mateen shot hostages at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida Sunday morning.
Gay clubs in Orlando, including Pulse, often have hip-hop nights that bring out Black gay people, mostly between the ages of 18 to 24.
Beverly Tillery, who heads the New York City Anti-Violence Project, which coordinates the NCAVP, called for public discussion on LGBTQ people and violence. How has it been influenced in Alabama? “And in this heat, we want to be sure people are hydrated, and we’ve been taking food to the hospitals to people who have been working around the clock taking care of the victims”. And this is just another reminder that we must be careful at all times. “It’s when people pf all beliefs come together and have a good time and rejoice”, says McCulley. “Or they choose not to come out”. Fear of violence is a reality for all lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people every day and in every place in this country. “For many of us yesterday, particularly in light of the Birmingham Pride Fest”.
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“I’m heartbroken”, said Hewett, a Hall County resident who has always been active in the fight for LGBT rights.
