#ORLANDO

New Yorkers Gather Outside Stonewall Inn To Pay Respects To Orlando Victims

stonewall-memorial

“Whatever this evil is that’s spreading across the world, it seems like people everywhere are starting to get a taste of it.”

This is said apropos of nothing by a woman standing beside The Stonewall Inn; she says she came to “pay her respects” by joining the crowd that right now is jostling for a position directly in front of the bar.

By the front entrance, a spray of flowers, notes, and candles have been placed as a memorial to the fifty people lost in the Orlando massacre early Sunday morning. The vigil officially starts at seven. One man, one of many hovering around the shrine, openly sobs: “Everyone be careful out there,” he keeps saying to strangers shuffling past. Pockets of people scream “Love, not hate!” Police officers swarm near the barricades erected up and down Christopher Street. Many clutch automatic rifles. A lone chopper circles overhead.

Cutting through the crowd, a bicycle messenger grows exasperated as he’s momentarily gridlocked: “What the fuck is this faggot shit?” he barks. He spits next to the memorial before escaping the throng. News crews with cameras and microphones vie for the closest proximity to the bar entrance: NYS governor Andrew Cuomo and New York mayor Bill de Blasio Andrew Cuomo and NYC mayor Bill De Blasio will be saying a few words at some point during the night.

To watch a live feed of the vigil, you can visit here or here.

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