[URBAN NOTE] "Toronto holds candlelight vigil for victims of Orlando nightclub massacre"

[rfmcdonald]

The Toronto Star's Jackie Hong reports on the local reaction to Orlando.

Hundreds of members of Toronto’s gay community and their supporters honoured the victims of the shooting spree in Orlando with a candlelight vigil Sunday evening at Barbara Hall Park, on Church St.

The vigil, organized by a “queer nun” collective dubbed the Toronto Sisters, invited people to “bring a candle, say a prayer, seek or give comfort (and) stand in solidarity with our queer Orlando brothers and sisters. Love conquers all.”

Supported by The 519, a LGBTQ community centre, the vigil was just one of many ways Torontonians expressed their horror over the massacre of 50 people when a lone gunman opened fire at the Pulse nightclub early Sunday.

A group of equity officials in Ontario schools encouraged schools province-wide to discuss the incident in classrooms on Monday. The Equity Summit Group also urged schools to fly their flags at half-mast, create announcements explaining the reason June has been designated Pride month, build support groups for LGBTQ staff, challenge schools that don’t have active Gay Student Alliance groups, and simply speak out for people who feel silenced.

Durham Region schools will fly their flags at half-mast. Barry Bedford, principal of equity at the Durham District School Board and co-chair of the equity group, wrote: “It's time to step up. This event has not only robbed countless people of their loved ones, partners. Husbands and wives, it has also stolen any sense of safety within our LGBTQ community. Step up. Words alone mean nothing!”