Community gathers to mourn, honor those affected by Orlando nightclub shooting
Mount Pleasant community members began the healing process Tuesday night with a candlelight vigil to commemorate the victims of the June 12 shooting inside an Orlando nightclub.
The vigil was held at 9 p.m. Tuesday in front of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Central Michigan at 319 S. University Ave. More than 100 community members came to mourn the deaths of the 49 individuals killed inside Pulse, a gay nightclub near Downtown Orlando, and to stand in solidarity with the Muslim community.
The names of the 49 victims killed were each read and followed by a moment of silence. The gathering sang "We Will Overcome," an anthem of the Civil Rights Movement.
Mount Pleasant Mayor Kathy Ling attended Tuesday's vigil. Ling said the community's response displays its openness and love.
"It's a way of saying we all need to reflect," she said. "In one way or another, we are all affected by this. It's good to come together, remember what happened and reflect on what each of us can do in our own way to bring peace to a very chaotic situation."
Ling called the shooting's death toll "overwhelming."
Central Michigan University junior Jared Ginder, of Plymouth, said he is not a member of the LGBTQ+ community, but was in "absolute disbelief" when he heard about the shooting.
"It stuns me that people could be able to do that," Ginder said. "If a tragedy happens like this, then I think people need to put aside their partisan beliefs and support the victims. It doesn't matter if you're conservative or liberal. We all should put in the effort to help those who were hurt."
The tragedy, Gladwin native and CMU junior Katie Loesel said, should not be used to create fear or cover up the real issue at hand — this was a direct attack on the LGBTQ+ community.
"You shouldn't use this tragedy to uphold your own beliefs and use it as a reason to take down ISIS or keep muslims out of our country," she said. "There are leaders all over the country using this tragedy to act as propaganda for their own beliefs and not focusing on the issue that this was a hate crime against LGBTQ people."
Attending the vigil with her twin sons, doctoral student Duha Hamed does not want Islam to be defined by hateful acts. She said she should not need to "be sorry" for being Muslim, but can still grieve as a member of the community.
"He is not a Muslim," Hamed said about Orlando gunmen Omar Mateen. "That is not what my religion is about, but with ignorant people, I still feel I have to (defend myself). I have to think how they think and try to explain it to them by showing Muslims as loving, caring human beings."
