VIDETTE ‘There is a summer WEDNESDAY, JUNE 15, 2016 Vol. 128 / No. 63
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light at the end’
Bloomington-Normal community comes together after Orlando shooting EMA SASIC News Editor | @ema_sasic
“There is a light at the end. There is a rainbow,” Prairie Pride Coalition Board President David Bentlin said Monday to a crowd in downtown Bloomington who gathered together at a vigil in wake of the recent shootings in Orlando, Fla. People across the country are coming together to celebrate love and acceptance after the deadliest mass shooting in the country’s history and the nation’s worst terror attack since Sept. 11. The gunman, Omar Mateen, entered Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla., early Sunday and killed 49 people and injured 53. Mateen called 911 during the attack to pledge allegiance to ISIS. People were trapped inside the club for three hours desperately making phone calls to friends and family members,according to CNN. Authorities eventually crashed into the building with an armored vehicle and stun grenades and killed the gunman.
All 49 victims were identified. Many were Latinx; the club was celebrating “Latin Night.” As more details are learned, local LGBTQ community members share their thoughts when they first learned what happened. “When I heard the news, I was so shocked,” Anthony Anderson, co-president of Pride at Illinois State University, said. “I was angry that out of all the months, it happened during Pride Month, which is supposed to be a time for us to live out loud and proud, celebrate the accomplishments of folks in our community, past and present, and to gather to envision a better tomorrow.” After Prairie Pride Coalition President David Bentlin heard the LGBTQ community was specifically targeted in this attack, he described it as “a punch to the gut.” While he sees the attack as a “reality call,” he says it is also a time “to come together and to support each other.” “Love will always win out over hate. That’s the message we really want to share from this incident,” Bentlin said. “This was one person who was mentally unstable, had a history of violence and aggression and we will not allow
one person to drown out the voices of thousands and millions of people who are supportive of LGBT people.” Hours after the attack, President Barack Obama held a press conference where he said Americans “are united in grief, in outrage and in resolve to defend our people.” “This is a sobering reminder that attacks on any American — regardless of race, ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation — is an attack on all of us and on the fundamental values of equality and dignity that define us as a country,” Obama said. To honor the lives lost at Pulse, the Prairie Pride Coalition and The Bistro, a gay bar in downtown Bloomington, held a vigil Monday night. Participants gathered at The Bistro then walked around the Courthouse square until they reached Withers Park, where a short program was held. Many other events are remembering the victims. Prior to the start of the 70th Annual Tony Awards, the Tony Award Productions stated in a press release the show would be dedicated to the families and friends of those affected.
ABOVE: Worship Director for Hope Church, Katie Eckeberger, sang John Lennon’s “Imagine” at a vigil in downtown Bloomington honoring those who lost their lives in the Orlando shooting. She stands beside the Prairie Pride Coalition Board President David Bentlin.
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Photograph by AVE RIO | Editor-in-Chief
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