KALAMAZOO (WKZO-AM) — Rep. Jon Hoadley, D-Kalamazoo, said the gay community felt it had reasons to celebrate during Gay Pride Month after the Supreme Court decision on same-sex marriage. He said all changed early Sunday morning following the mass murders at a gay club in Orlando.
He said he was heartbroken and shocked that 50 had been killed and another 53 were injured by a gunman claiming to be inspired by ISIS. He says it shows the gay community still has a lot of work to do.
Jay Maddock, director of the Kalamazoo Gay Lesbian Resource Center, said it was quite a comedown after the two-day Kalamazoo Pride event at Arcadia Creek Festival Place in downtown Kalamazoo.
Hoadley, who is one of two openly gay lawmakers in Michigan, said the timing during Pride Month makes the motive of the gunman obvious.
Hoadley will be one of the speakers Monday evening at a candlelight vigil in Bronson Park. It’s scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m.
A candlelight vigil was also held at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Battle Creek on Sunday to mourn the victims of the tragedy in Orland.
A vigil also occurred outside the largest and oldest gay nightclub in Grand Rapids. About two-dozen people also attended a vigil last night outside the OutCenter in the Benton Harbor’s arts district.
