A rainbow flag was raised in front of city hall in Springfield, Massachusetts today in an emotional ceremony to honor the victims of the mass shooting in Orlando.
Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno said he thought it was appropriate to raise the rainbow flag, a symbol of gay pride, as a show of support by the city for the victims of the shootings and their families.
" And stand as one in solidarity with our thoughts, prayers and encouragement to fight against this hate and this violence," he said.
The flag-raising ceremony on the city hall esplanade was the latest in a series of hastily arranged and sometimes spontaneous public remembrances throughout the region that have occurred since the mass shooting early Sunday.
A gunman, whom police said was armed with an AR-15-style assault rifle, opened fire inside Pulse, a gay nightclub that was hosting a Latino-themed party. 49 people were killed and 53 wounded. Doctors cautioned the death toll could rise with many of the wounded in critical condition.
A noon-time crowd of about 50 people participated in Tuesday’s flag-raising and applauded when Mayor Sarno touched on the subject of gun control.
" I don't see how there is any need for assault-style weapons that really are for military and our police officers," said Sarno. " I don't believe individuals are going to use it to go shred a deer. So. that has to be looked at."
Former State Rep. Cheryl Coakley-Rivera, who is gay, said the flag-raising touched her heart. She said her nephew lost a good friend in the tragedy and is very distraught.
" At the end of my anger and frustration, I am left with just one thought, and that is prayer," she said. " I pray for all the victims. I pray for all of you. Because just about everyone of us, the fifty of us here, would be dead now if we had been in there."
Others who spoke at the ceremony were Springfield City Councilors Tom Ashe, Mike Fenton, and Kateri Walsh, State Senator Eric Lesser and State Rep. Jose Tosado who said he came to stand in solidarity with the LGBT community.
" It is hard for me to fathom how this could have occurred," said Tosado." I mourn for the victims and the survivors."
Following the speeches, Sarno invited everyone present to come to the base of the flagpole to help raise the rainbow flag. The flag was raised to the top of the pole, but then lowered to half-staff.
The mass shooting in Orlando was closely felt in the tight-knit Pioneer Valley LGBT community. One of the dead is Kimberly Morris, known as KJ, who lived in western Massachusetts for about a decade and was a well-known and beloved drag performer.
