Emotional gatherings of LBGT supporters honour those killed in America’s worst mass shooting.
People in Jacksonville stood in unity with the Orlando community after 50 people were shot and killed at a popular LGBT club.
Nearly 500 people sang ‘We Shall Overcome’ at an emotional vigil in Riverside’s Memorial Park while others gathered at Lake Eola Park in Orlando.
The Jacksonville vigil was a way for the community to show support after a gunman opened fire at Pulse nightclub in Orlando early Sunday morning.
New Yorkers gathered in Manhattan at a historic bar to grieve, flocking to the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village Sunday evening.
As CBS New York reported, the crowd grew by the hundreds over a period of three hours. People laid flowers, sang, and made speeches, and while everyone was devastated, the message that rang out was what the LGBT has been saying for decades — love will overcome.
“This is a place where the community comes to celebrate, and it’s a place where the community comes to mourn,” said Stonewall Inn owner Stacy Lentz.
About 100 people gathered in Paris for a spontaneous vigil at Place Igor Stravinsky.
Hundreds of Calgarians came to Olympic Plaza Sunday night to mourn and show support for the victims, survivors and families.
Londoners responded to the murder of 50 people at a gay club in Orlando with a vigil in Soho.
Pride in London also said it would be holding a minute’s reflection in Trafalgar Square, where 14,000 people are expected to celebrate their sexuality on June 25 and 26.
Edinburgh will hold a vigil in St Andrews Square on Wednesday June 15.
The organisers of Brisbane Pride, which held its annual celebration of the queer community and their allies on Saturday, are holding vigil in the heart of the city designed to allow people to “express their grief and mourn” the attack on their community in America.
“This morning (Sun) LGBTIQA+ communities the world over awoke to the heart breaking news of the worst mass shooting in the history of the United States. This was an attack on our community and the depth of shock and mourning runs as deeply in Brisbane as it does anywhere,” Brisbane Pride President Deeje Hancock.
Hundreds gathered in Glasgow’s George Square and a rainbow flag is flying at half mast on Glasgow City Chambers.
In Manchester, hundreds of people held hands and linked arms in silence on Canal Street, the hub of the city’s gay village while a lone voice sang Amazing Grace. The crowd was addressed by Manchester’s first openly-gay Lord Mayor Carl Austin-Behan and actor Julie Hesmondhalgh.
Vigils were also held in Birmingham, Cardiff, Brighton, Leeds and Nottingham, with more planned in the coming weeks.
