From West to East, Pride Survives SCV residents host Orlando vigil

 A mass shooting in Florida shook the country on June 12.  The attack at Pulse nightclub in Orlando left 53 injured and 49 deceased.  The killer raised that toll to 50.  Citizens, political figures, LGBTQ leaders and even the shooter’s family shared their condolences across the Internet and through vigils throughout the country.  One of the World Trade Centers in New York City made a brilliant display of the LGBTQ community’s prideful colors, and the Empire State Building’s lights were dark in homage to those who were lost.
Santa Clarita Valley residents also displayed pride and support when local Andrew Taban organized a vigil in Central Park with more than 50 people in attendance – one supporter for every life lost and then some.  When asked what drove him to act, Andrew Taban, a six-year advocate for the William S. Hart Union High School District, said he sought to “honor and remember” those who were gone and their families.  “Shock, disappointment, [and] a mixture of emotions really” hit him as he saw the updates through the news, and motivation from friends aided in his compulsion to act.
The event itself showed tears but no anger; rather, there was a call for peace.  The same call echoed over and over across the years as the LGBTQ community has sought to find a place where their lifestyle is not targeted, and those calls were emblazoned on posters throughout the crowd: “No H8,” “Love is Love,” and “We Are You.”