Modesto LGBT community reacts with shock, solidarity to Orlando

After a night out celebrating Modesto’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, Elena Carrillo woke up to the news of the shooting at a gay Orlando, Fla., nightclub and thought, “That could have been us.”

The board member of the nonprofit group MoPRIDE, which puts on the annual Pride in the Park celebration and is working on opening an LGBT center in town, had been with more than 200 friends and supporters Saturday night for a benefit show for the organization at the Prospect Theatre Project.

“I had to sit with it for a little bit. I was very emotional. I cried immediately. We just had our big fundraiser. The reality broke my heart,” said the Modesto resident. “I woke up to it and had to tell my wife about it. That could have been us; that’s not OK.”

MoPRIDE organized a candlelight vigil at Graceada Park on Sunday night for the victims of the shooting at Pulse, which bills itself as “Orlando’s Premiere Gay Ultra Lounge, Nightclub and Bar.” About 300 people turned out.

“Each person who was shot was a beloved child of God deserving safety and dignity that was denied to them,” said pastor Jim Ross of First Congregational Church of Ripon. He and other speakers urged a nonviolent response to the shootings.

“It will not prevent us from loving ourselves and will not prevent us from celebrating our community,” said Jo Sisemore, a MoPRIDE board member.

The attack – which claimed 50 lives, wounded dozens at the hands of an extremist with an assault rifle and is the deadliest mass shooting in United States history – occurred in the midst of LGBT Pride Month celebrations nationally. Cities across the country from New York to San Francisco, Chicago to New Orleans hold parades and festivals during that time.

Ed Plata, who with his wife, Elizabeth, founded The Place support group for LGBT youth, said earlier Sunday that he was still trying to process the news. The group has around 20 to 25 regular members who meet twice a month, as well as an adult support group.

“I immediately thought about my kids. And I’m not just talking about my own child. I consider those kids to be my kids, too. It could have happened anywhere,” Plata said. “There’s a reason behind it. It matters that it’s Pride Month. I know that it definitely strikes a chord in there. We have the Tiki lounge here, we have other gay bars here.”

Along with the Tiki Cocktail Lounge on McHenry Avenue, Modesto has two other LGBT nightclubs: the long-running Brave Bull on South Ninth Street and the newer Climax Bar & Nightclub on Seventh Street. Climax marketing manager Gerad Slayton posted a message of condolences about the Orlando shooting on the club’s Facebook page.

Like Pulse, Climax is a popular LGBT club that hosts themed nights and attracts a diverse crowd. Slayton said on Saturday night the hotspot had about 300 people inside dancing and enjoying themselves. He said for many in the LGBT community, clubs and bars are sanctuaries where people can be themselves without fear of judgment or for their safety.

“A lot of people literally say this is my safe place to go. When I came out a few years ago, Climax was the first club I came to as a gay club,” he said. “It’s a lot of people just celebrating who they are and themselves. Everyone wants to be accepted for who they are.”

Slayton said the management of Climax decided to keep the club open Sunday night for people to gather. He also knew many people who planned to attend the candlelight vigil at Graceada Park.

“We are celebrating pride, which is defined as a feeling or deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from one’s own achievements, the achievements of those with whom one is closely associated. We refuse to let anyone take that from us,” Slayton said.

Modesto will hold its own annual Pride in the Park celebration Oct. 1 at Graceada Park. Last year around 2,500 attended the all-day festivities, which included live entertainment and vendor booths. The vigil Sunday night in the same park was a way to bring the community together in grief and in solidarity, Carrillo said.

“Even though this happened 3,000 miles away, we want to provide support for them. We want to increase support for the LGBT community here in Modesto,” she said. “The way we do that is getting together, in good or bad. We need to be together. It won’t stop us in any way. We will move forward.”

This story was originally published June 12, 2016 at 6:32 PM with the headline "Modesto LGBT community reacts with shock, solidarity to Orlando."