Hundreds gather to honor victims of Colorado gay nightclub shooting

Hundreds held candles in the air Tuesday night during a vigil honoring the victims of a mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Colorado.

On Sunday, a 22-year-old gunman killed five people and injured dozens more inside Club Q in Colorado Springs.

The LGBTQ+ Center of Southern Nevada hosted a community vigil that included speakers from local organizations who honored the lives lost on Sunday.

A candle was lit as the names of Daniel Aston, Derrick Rump, Kelly Loving, Raymond Green Vance, and Ashley Paugh were read aloud followed by a moment of silence.

Representatives from the Human Rights Campaign, Silver State Equality, the Nevada Equal Rights Commission and others spoke about the need to protect members of the LGBTQ community in Las Vegas and across the country.

“Everyday an LGBTQIA individual walks out the door there’s a potential for hate, there’s a potential for somebody that is going to even bring violence towards our community,” said John Waldron, chief executive officer of The LGBTQ+ Center of Southern Nevada. “That especially happens in our trans and gender non-binary community and even our intersex community.”

Waldron is a former director of advertising at the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Candles lined the walkways near the entrance to the center and people picked them up and gathered in a group around a stage that got tighter and tighter as more people arrived.

Danielle Haldeman’s first thought when news of the shooting broke on Sunday was, “not again.” Haldeman wasn’t able at first to process what had happened and said Tuesday night’s event offered a valuable place for the LGBTQ community to be together while grieving.

“It’s nice to have this designated time in our lives to come together to be able to fully experience it and process it and not have to bottle it,” Haldeman said.

Quincy Robinson stood on the outer edge of the circle. Robinson has lived in Las Vegas for 18 years and has friends and family who are gay.

Robinson’s voice broke and she wiped tears from her eyes when recalling her reaction to the news on Sunday.

“That the struggle hasn’t changed,” Robinson said.

Haldeman came to the vigil with Albert Sedano. While Haldeman said the community feels like a safe place for members of the LGBTQ community, Sedano said those in Colorado Springs probably felt safe when they went out for a good time, expecting to come home.

“It’s hard to say that we feel safe because you don’t know,” Sedano said.

Both said Tuesday’s event was a reminder that members of the LGBTQ community in Las Vegas are not alone.

“Our strength comes from being ourselves and knowing ourselves and showing up for each other,” Haldeman said.

Contact David Wilson at dwilson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @davidwilson_RJ on Twitter.