• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Towleroad
  • Towleroad on Social Media
  • Privacy Policy

Towleroad Gay News

Gay Blog Towleroad: More than gay news | gay men

  • Travel
  • Sports
  • Law/Justice
  • Celebrities
  • Republicans
  • Madonna
  • Books
  • Men
  • Trans Rights
  • Royals
  • Monkeypox
  • Lady Gaga Makes “Sweet Sounds of Heaven” With Mick Jagger; ‘Mick wants to see you.’ I only know one Mick, so I walked down to a studio -LISTEN
  • Fascist ‘active clubs’ revealed to be building secret street militia: ‘Who the Proud Boys wanted to be’
  • Russia’s LGBTQ+ community unites amid Kremlin crackdown

‘For a lot of our families, having a son or a daughter who is gay maybe was a secret until this weekend’

Angilee Shah - PRI The World June 14, 2016 Leave a Comment

orlando victims

Many of the victims of the Sunday shooting in Orlando were in their 20s and Latino. It's a young age, and a really important time for people who are “coming out” to their families.

“Imagine those folks who were not out to their families, or who were barely starting to come out to their families,” says Jorge Gutierrez, national coordinator for Familia: Trans Queer Liberation Movement. “We know how important family is to us as Latinos. Now they don't have that opportunity to be authentic, in their homes with their own families.”

For Marytza Sanz, this is one part of Sunday's shooting at Pulse nightclub that is particularly devastating. She's the president of Latino Leadership, a nonprofit organization in the city that helps families connect with and navigate services and resources.

“For a lot of our families, having a son or a daughter who is gay maybe was a secret until this weekend. Culturally, our families, they're not too open,” says Sanz. “Suddenly, these kids' names are coming in the media.”

Serving the Latino population in a crisis is already a challenge. And the cultural taboos around homosexuality make this type of violence even more difficult.

Jeff Prystajko is the director of communications for another local nonprofit, Come Out With Pride, Orlando. Even in a city as welcoming as Orlando, he says, he's seen how difficult the process of “coming out” can be for young people.

“Every person who has come out, has a story. For young people now, it's common,” says Prystajko. “Many parents are more accepting, but that's not everywhere. Many people have deeply held beliefs or [are in] religious communities that say homosexuality is intrinsically bad.”

Prystajko did not know any of the victims personally, but he says because of their ages, it's likely many of them had not yet “come out.”

“So many of us who have had problems coming out with our families have built those relationships back. We can only hope that some of these communities that have rejected LGBT people can change,” Prystajko says.

The shooting happened early Sunday morning at Pulse nightclub, which patrons say has been a safe space for many people, a place to get away from hostility and be themselves.

Daniel Leon-Davis wrote in Fusion about his first time at Pulse.

While a lot of people turn to churches, LGBT communities are often forced to use nightclubs as our safe haven, and Pulse was mine. Although I had built armor to defend myself from the hatred that was spewed to me when I came out (including some from my own mother), the reality was that I still hated myself because of my identity as a gay man. It didn't help that I had grown up in a church that had conditioned me to hate myself for loving other men.

Sanz says that before the shooting, watching angry and hateful rhetoric on the news has been disheartening, but she always hoped it would not end in something this terrible.

“Not only has the church contributed,” says Sanz, “but these politicians that have been bringing up the constant bashing of Muslims, homosexuality, women — I think this has been growing and growing until this time bomb exploded.”

“This [shooting] is about violence that has been happening for many, many years,” says Gutierrez, citing the high rates of hate crimes against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in the US. “We want to blame everything on one person, but this is not an isolated case.”

“A couple of years ago, I was at that club. For us, the scary part is that that could have been anywhere,” he says. “They look like us. That could have been any of us.”

According to a 2012 study by the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies on religious beliefs in Orlando, the city's population is largely Roman Catholic, with almost 300,000 members. Evangelical and Southern Baptist worshippers make up about 230,000 of over 2 million people in the metro area. Data from theOrlando Economic Development Commission shows that about half a million in the city are Hispanic. A large share of that population traces its origins to Puerto Rico, according to a Pew Hispanic Center study.

The shooter killed 49 people on Sunday, all between the ages of 19 and 41. Many of the victims have Spanish names and most were men. Another 53 more people were injured and, though we don't know their names or identities, they likely share similar demographics.

Sanz worries that Spanish-speaking families aren't connecting with local organizations that are providing resources to victims and their families. A crowdfunding campaign by several Central Florida organizations raised some $200,000 in 24 hours and has increased its goal to $500,000. The funds will go to counseling, an emergency hotline and to support victims' families. But many people who come to Sanz's offices don't know how to access that support, or that it even exists.

For now, she anticipates many people will have questions about what to do next. For example: Who will provide for burials, the families of the victims or their partners, who may have never known the family?

“Nobody at age 19 or 20 was planning about their funerals,” she says.

For Sanz, the hope is that all of these conversations and this tragedy can at least help heal divisions. The violence, she asks, will it bring us together, or are we going to go back to how things were?

“It's hard [for families], and more hard when they have been going to a church that has been penalizing homosexuality,” she says. “You have been maybe going to a church for many years. Now you're seeing your pastor on TV saying, let's pray for these families.”

“For our families, they are lost now. They are running without direction.”

What should come from this devastation, she says, is acceptance. “Let's sit and let's talk. You're my son, you're my daughter. We are all together and we love you no matter what.”

This article was first published on PRI's The World.

Topics: Uncategorized More Posts About: Hate Crime, I'm Gay, Orlando, Terrorism

Related Posts
  • LGBTQ nightclub attack a suspected hate crime: Colorado mayor
  • Taliban Praise Suicide Bombers, Offer Families Clothing, Cash, and Land. This is Not What Well-Intentioned Reform Looks Like
  • Senate Votes to Designate Pulse Nightclub a National Memorial; ‘Thank you … For Recognizing Our Hallowed Ground’
  • Fascist ‘active clubs’ revealed to be building secret street militia: ‘Who the Proud Boys wanted to be’

    Fascist ‘active clubs’ revealed to be building secret street militia: ‘Who the Proud Boys wanted to be’

    Published by Raw Story In the wake of prosecutions that decimated the former leadership of extremist groups like the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys, white nationalist “Active Clubs” are growing, Rolling Stone reported. “The Active …Read More »
  • Russia’s LGBTQ+ community unites amid Kremlin crackdown

    Russia’s LGBTQ+ community unites amid Kremlin crackdown

    Published by Euronews (English) In the heart of St. Petersburg, Sof, a volunteer at Centre-T, helps Russia's trans community get care. He is currently inundated with a stream of desperate pleas for aid. “I had to …Read More »
  • Rosie O’Donnell’s Health Scare: TV Host ‘Should’ve Died’ After Suffering a ‘Massive Heart Attack’ at Age 50

    Rosie O’Donnell’s Health Scare: TV Host ‘Should’ve Died’ After Suffering a ‘Massive Heart Attack’ at Age 50

    Published by OK Magazine (AU) Rosie O’Donnell vividly remembers the life-threatening health scare she suffered more than 10 years ago. During a guest appearance on the Monday, September 18, episode of “The Best Podcast Ever” with …Read More »
  • Inside Elton John’s $5m condo with stunning views – and it’s worth every dime

    Inside Elton John’s $5m condo with stunning views – and it’s worth every dime

    Published by Celebrity Tidbit Elton John is selling his incredible million-dollar Atlanta condo, and it oozes every ounce of luxury. The music legend has put his condominium on the market for a staggering $5 million. Looking …Read More »
Previous Post: « Conan O’Brien Blasts Assault Weapons in Angry, Emotional Opening Monologue: WATCH
Next Post: House Democrats Erupt at Hypocritical GOP Inaction After Moment of Silence for Orlando: WATCH »

Primary Sidebar

Most Recent

  • Lady Gaga Makes “Sweet Sounds of Heaven” With Mick Jagger; ‘Mick wants to see you.’ I only know one Mick, so I walked down to a studio -LISTEN

    Lady Gaga Makes “Sweet Sounds of Heaven” With Mick Jagger; ‘Mick wants to see you.’ I only know one Mick, so I walked down to a studio -LISTEN

  • Fascist ‘active clubs’ revealed to be building secret street militia: ‘Who the Proud Boys wanted to be’

    Fascist ‘active clubs’ revealed to be building secret street militia: ‘Who the Proud Boys wanted to be’

  • Russia’s LGBTQ+ community unites amid Kremlin crackdown

    Russia’s LGBTQ+ community unites amid Kremlin crackdown

  • Rosie O’Donnell’s Health Scare: TV Host ‘Should’ve Died’ After Suffering a ‘Massive Heart Attack’ at Age 50

    Rosie O’Donnell’s Health Scare: TV Host ‘Should’ve Died’ After Suffering a ‘Massive Heart Attack’ at Age 50

  • Inside Elton John’s $5m condo with stunning views – and it’s worth every dime

    Inside Elton John’s $5m condo with stunning views – and it’s worth every dime

  • Cher & Boyfriend Alexander Edwards Return To Paris Fashion Week After Rumored Split

    Cher & Boyfriend Alexander Edwards Return To Paris Fashion Week After Rumored Split

  • Appeals court upholds Tennessee, Kentucky bans on transgender care for minors

    Appeals court upholds Tennessee, Kentucky bans on transgender care for minors

  • Archdiocese of Baltimore files for bankruptcy as it readies for onslaught of sex abuse lawsuits

    Archdiocese of Baltimore files for bankruptcy as it readies for onslaught of sex abuse lawsuits

Adjacent News

  • Did the UAE ban the Barbie movie? What about Saudi Arabia?

    Did the UAE ban the Barbie movie? What about Saudi Arabia?

  • From penal camp, dissident Navalny calls on Russians to resist Putin

    From penal camp, dissident Navalny calls on Russians to resist Putin

  • As contentious judicial ‘reform’ becomes law in Israel, Netanyahu cements his political legacy

    As contentious judicial ‘reform’ becomes law in Israel, Netanyahu cements his political legacy

Good Trash: Going to Read It Somewhere, Y'know

  • Below Deck’s Captain Sandy Yawn Is Engaged to Leah Shafer After 5 Years of Dating: See the Romantic Proposal

    Below Deck’s Captain Sandy Yawn Is Engaged to Leah Shafer After 5 Years of Dating: See the Romantic Proposal

  • Pilot draws 24-kilometre-long penis in the sky after being diverted from Catania airport

    Pilot draws 24-kilometre-long penis in the sky after being diverted from Catania airport

  • Beyonce pays tribute to stabbed fan

    Beyonce pays tribute to stabbed fan

Partner Links

  • Today’s Insta Hunk: Jwan Yosef!
    View this post on Instagram A post shared by Jwan Yosef […]
  • Dave Portnoy Reportedly Buys $42 Million Nantucket Estate, Setting a Record
    Dave Portnoy reportedly just splashed out a huge sum of money […]
  • Pride-Hating Mayoral Candidate Struggles To Explain Speedo-Wearing Hubby
    Gabrielle Hanson launched her campaign for mayor of Franklin, Tennessee after […]
  • GOP Impeachment Zealots Deem Themselves ‘Essential Workers’ During Shutdown
    If (more likely when) the government shuts down because the MAGA […]
  • No, The Two Parties Are Not The Same
    Leigh McGowan, aka Politics Girl, takes a week out of history […]

Most Commented

Social

Twitter @tlrd | Facebook | Instagram @tlrd

About

  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Towleroad
  • Towleroad on Social Media
  • Privacy Policy
[towleroadmr] [towleroadtn]

Copyright © 2023 · Log in

×
×