After Sunday’s mass shooting at the gay nightclub PULSE in Orlando, cities and towns around Wyoming are holding vigils to honor the victims.
Candlelight vigils are set to take place at the United Church of Christ in Casper at 8:30 tonight, in Laramie at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow, and in the Cheyenne Depot Plaza Thursday at 7 p.m.
June is Pride Month, and celebrations had already been planned around the state. Jeran Artery, chairman of Wyoming Equality, said he knows people are scared, but that they should not give in to fear.
“I hope that these events in Wyoming and in Colorado and across the country set record attendance. You know, I want to see people come out and show support and stand up against this violence and this terrorism and say ‘you will not scare us,” Artery said.
In a speech Monday addressing the shooting, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton invoked the Matthew Shepard case as she denounced the violence.
“From Stonewall to Laramie and now Orlando, we’ve seen too many examples of how the struggle to live freely, openly, and without fear has been met by violence,” said Clinton.
49 people were killed in Sunday’s attack, and 53 were injured, making it the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history.
