Baltimore LGBTQIA+ community shares outpouring of love, support in wake of Club Q shooting
Baltimore's LGBTQIA+ community gathered Wednesday afternoon for an outpouring of love and support in wake of a hateful attack.
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People gathered at the First and Franklin Presbyterian Church on West Madison Street to pay respects to the five people who died and 19 others who were injured in a shooting at Club Q in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
The Pride Center of Maryland, the Baltimore Mayor's Office of LGBTQ Affairs and other organizations are holding a candlelight vigil. Gathering with heavy hearts and candles in hand, they stood in solidarity with those lost when a gunman opened fire Saturday night at the LGBTQIA+ club.
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"It's really heartbreaking because it's members of our community (who) continue, continue, continue being killed," said Tramour Wilson, senior director of programming at The Pride Center of Maryland.
Wilson said though the shooting happened 1,000 miles away, it feels way too close to home for members of the LGBTQIA+ community in Baltimore.
"A lot of individuals look at impact like, 'Oh, it was not here. It was all the way across the country.' But this put members of this community in fear, in fear that we could be next," Wilson said.
There's also fear over how people could be victimized in a place that was supposed to be a safe space.
"With the limited amount of safe spaces that are available in communities that are LGBTQ and same-gender-loving members, it makes you fear of wanting to be out at a bar, makes you fear wanting to be in a nightclub because you are afraid that could happen here," Wilson said.
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But Wilson said he wants people in Baltimore to know they're not alone in their fear or their grief, that they have people to lean on. He hopes the candlelight vigil proves it.
"I hope they walk away with a sense of community, (that) they know that there are other people out there who have their back," Wilson said.
Wilson said they will also have important conversations at the vigil about how to keep LGBTQIA+ people safe in Baltimore.
Several LGBTQIA+ bars, restaurants and nonprofit groups are supporting the vigil.
Video below: Memorial outside of Club Q after deadly shooting