Hundreds of members of the city’s LGBTQ community gathered in downtown Calgary on Sunday night to remember the victims of a mass shooting at a gay dance club in Orlando, Florida.
The rally, which took place at Olympic Plaza, was organized by Calgary Pride and included a moment of silence for the 50 people slain by Omar Mateen, when he stormed the Pulse Orlando club with an AR-15 and opened fire.
Dozens of others were critically wounded, making the event the worst mass shooting in U.S. history.
Organizers with Calgary Pride say the situation is incredibly tough for everyone right now.
“I think a lot of people are still trying to process what’s gone on and trying to figure out how we, as a community, can move forward and how we can support our community that’s in Orlando that’s also going through an incredibly tough time right now,” said Nolan Hill.
“So the demonstrations we make – they make a huge difference,” said Arun Smith. “At the very least, to shift the conversation from tragedy to action, from tears to being on the streets, being in our communities, to being active and challenging ourselves and all of our institutions.”
The Langevin Bridge and the Calgary Tower were also lit with rainbow colours in support of LGBTQ communities around the world.
