SF Castro remembers victims of Orlando nightclub shooting 10 years later

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — While June is usually full of exuberant Pride Month celebrations, June 12 feels different for many in the LGBTQ community.

10 years ago, a mass shooting at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando claimed the lives of 49 people and wounded dozens more.

Stephen Torres, who acts as program manager for the Castro LGBTQ Cultural District, said the annual memorial vigil honoring the victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting is a significant part of Pride Month. It’s a reminder that Pride was born out of protest and that safe spaces for queer people will always be needed.

“Our pride, our joy, our celebration is born out of hard-fought strife and pain, and unfortunately, Pulse is part of that,” said Torres.

For Christopher Vasquez, Pulse was once his sanctuary. Vasquez now lives in San Francisco but is originally from Orlando. Every time he visited home, he spent time at Pulse. Although he wasn’t in Orlando when the shooting happened, he still felt its impact.

“When Pulse opened in 2004, it was new and fun and vibrant. It was a new, safe space for us to come dance and just have a great time,” said Vasquez. “I was just devastated. It was like a piece of my soul was taken from me. Losing 49 people — not just from my hometown but from my LGBTQ community — was absolutely heart-wrenching, and it lives with me to this day, 10 years later.”

Vasquez spoke to the crowd about what Pulse meant to him. They then marched together down Castro Street carrying a sign that read, “Remember the 49,” and laid flowers in honor of the victims.

Vasquez said the fight for LGBTQ rights and acceptance isn’t over. “It’s been 10 years and, for a while, I think people felt very comfortable with where we had come as a community in the LGBTQ space with marriage equality and other gains. But truly, Pulse was a reminder that we have so much further to go because our physical safety is always under attack.”