By HOI ABC
BLOOMINGTON – Friday was the four-year mark since one of the deadliest mass shootings in United States history. 49 people were killed and more than 50 others injured when a man opened fire at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida.
While Pride Month is typically filled with celebration, those who gathered in Bloomington say remembering the hurt is just as important.
Our news partner HOI ABC reports for one remembrance organizer, Laurie Bell, the painful memories of the Pulse nightclub shooting come back year after year.
“This is our pulse and so when that happened in Orlando there isn’t a person whose LGBTQ+ or a parent or a family member or a loved one who just didn’t feel it in their heart and soul,” said Bell.
Hearts were drawn and signs handed out with the names of those who lost their life.
49 people stood with those names, creating a visual representation of what that tragedy would look like at McLean County’s only LGBTQ+ establishment: Bistro.
Bell says its a reminder to continue to fight for change. Just hours before their gathering, President Trump removed nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ+ people when it comes to health care and health insurance.
“Our young people are still too high on homelessness, too high on suicide. We still have these struggles in front of us, especially here locally,” continued Bell.
She says while it is important to take time to mourn, we must also find perseverance in the fact that there is so much to fight for.
“We never want this to happen again. We don’t ever want people to be dying due to gun violence,” said Bell.
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