Around 300 attended last night’s vigil..to honour those lost in this past weekends tragic events in Orlando.
Participants lit candles and then walked silently along the Riverfront.
Candlelight #vigil at Riverfront Park this evening #Moncton #OrlandoUnited pic.twitter.com/NoPCtvhJvV
— 91.9The Bend News (@919TheBendNews) June 13, 2016
Silent march along the river followed #vigil at Riverfront Park #Moncton #OrlandoUnited pic.twitter.com/se3tTMWZzm
— 91.9The Bend News (@919TheBendNews) June 13, 2016
Vice-Chair for Moncton’s River of Pride Chantal Thanh Laplante was overwhelmed with the support the LGTBQ community received, “I’m really touched by the turnout. I didn;’t expect that there would be so many people that would come. To know that the Greater Moncton community supports the LGBT community, really touches my heart deeply.”
Thanh Laplante says unfortunately, homophobia and transphobia are still an issue in our society, “Hearing stories of people getting bullied in schools or in the workplace or getting rejected from their families, is a reason to fear. We haven’t obtained total social acceptance in society one hundred percent yet.”
She says when the mourning is over, it will be time to act, to eliminate homophobia and transphobia, “We need to do something about it, and we need to educate. We need to talk about it and erase homophobia from our lives.”
The provincial flag is being flown at the NB legislature at half-mast in acknowledgment of the recent tragedy in Orlando, Fla
— Government of NB (@Gov_NB) June 13, 2016
The pride banner has also been raised in recognition of national Pride Month and the tragedy in Orlando pic.twitter.com/lHlyiqRPk4
— Government of NB (@Gov_NB) June 13, 2016
Meantime, more details have emerged about 29 year old Omar Mateen, the gunman in the largest mass shooting in US history.
Reports now say that Mateen was a regular at the Pulse nightclub..and had been seen there about a dozen times prior to the shooting incident.
President Barack Obama is expected to visit Orlando on Thursday to pay his respects.
About 11000 people gathered last night in Orlando to mourn, including Lady Gaga who gave an empowering speech.
We can always count on one another’s pain to remind us what strength is all about. #UnitedAsHumans #UnitedAsFriends pic.twitter.com/udBKNuo4km
— Lady Gaga (@ladygaga) June 14, 2016
