{{tncms-asset app=”editorial” id=”1765e2b8-311f-11e6-929b-7f5b45f6cffd”}}

Members of the Moscow-Pullman community gathered in Friendship Square in Moscow Sunday night to honor and mourn the victims of the shooting at the Pulse Orlando nightclub in Florida.

Upon hearing about the shooting that occurred early Sunday morning, Jennifer Murray, program assistant with WSU’s Women’s Resource Center, said she and others in the community worked to get the vigil organized to provide locals with an opportunity to express their sorrow.

“We realized something needed to be done and scrambled to get it together,” Murray said.

The vigil drew a crowd of about 100 people and featured different community members speaking to the crowd, expressing their feelings of sadness and giving words of encouragement.

“What’s made this bearable is that I’m not the only one grieving,” Murray said. “This is an amazing community.”

Kathy Sprague with Tabikat Productions, a local host location for drag shows and events, explained how traumatic it was to hear about the shooting. Tabikat was having a drag show that same evening.

“I cannot understand this kind of violence, it breaks my heart,” Sprague said. “We must remain strong and show our love.”

Lucas Radtke, a WSU student, spoke to the crowd about how, through this event, it cannot be forgotten that the nightclub in Orlando was hosting a Latin Night, and that some members of the LGBTQ community are minorities in more ways than one, making them even more vulnerable.

Radtke also said that, although the shooter at the nightclub was said to be Muslim, his actions don’t reflect the feelings of the Muslim community as a whole.

“It’s important to not misdirect our grief and anger to the Muslim community,” Radtke said. “It’s important not to misdirect our hatred onto people who don’t deserve it.” 

He went on to discuss how the LGBTQ community isn’t fighting any one religion or race, but is instead fighting bigotry.

“I’m glad we’re out here being loud and proud tonight,” he said.

After the speakers finished, the crowd sang the song “Singing for Our Lives,” with verses stating “we are a gentle, angry people” and “we are gay and straight together, and we are singing, singing for our lives.”

Heidi Stanton Schnebly, director of Gender Identity/Expression and Sexual Orientation Resource Center at WSU, attended the vigil along with several other WSU students.

“It’s a tragedy we have to come together under these circumstances, but to see people come together when they’re hurting, with pride, we stand in love and we stand in peace,” she said. “It’s a small thing, but to do it together, I hope we can start healing.”

The attendees gathered together to console one another, and art supplies was available to anyone who wanted to make a poster. Visitors created posters throughout the evening, featuring phrases like “Christians for inclusivity,” “I love our LGBTQIA friends” and “Our hearts are in Orlando.”

There was also an opportunity to talk with others one-on-one or in small groups if anyone felt they needed more verbal support.

“I am glad there are people,” Murray said, “who choose in the darkness to light a candle.”

To see more photos from the vigil on June 12, click here.