![gay pride orlando 2016 dates gay pride orlando 2016 dates](https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2016/06/12/gettyimages-539566932_custom-fd38b23dd77449a48e4397824e03b0006ef3e5aa-s1100-c50.jpg)
“One of my bartenders who has a big social media following was actually following somebody who was actually inside the (Orlando) club,” said Shawn Riker, owner of Fly 2.0, a popular LGBT nightclub in Toronto. Members of Toronto’s LGBT community say the impact of the Orlando shooting has been felt by gay and transgender people everywhere.
![gay pride orlando 2016 dates gay pride orlando 2016 dates](https://c8.alamy.com/comp/MB3K7W/aveda-salon-at-orlando-pride-parade-2016-MB3K7W.jpg)
“We are lucky and blessed to be in a city like Toronto, where what we get most of the time is love." "People understand that it's important, now more than ever, to be out, to be mobilized as community and to show love,” he said. Meanwhile, hundreds of members of Toronto's gay community gathered on Sunday night to honour the victims of the Florida shooting spree.Ī makeshift memorial in the city’s gay village continued to grow on Monday as dozens of people dropped off flowers and cards for the victims.Ĭhantelois said the vigil showed that members of the LGBT community are not scared. "But the chief of police was really clear that whatever we need, we will get to make sure that the festival is a safe place to be," he added.Ĭhantelois told CTV News Channel earlier on Monday that the security plan in place for Toronto Pride events is already "pretty robust." He added that the security budget for this year’s parade will be also be increased. We have to be out there, and we have to be visible."Ĭhantelois said organizers have not yet finalized to what degree security and police presence at the parade will be increased. "We want people to get out, to march with us, to talk with us, to be at the parade, to dance with us, to go in the gay clubs," Chantelois told reporters following the meeting with Toronto police. This year's Pride parade will be dedicated the victims of the attack. “This is why Pride is still relevant after 36 years, and that's why we’ll be marching.” “We know that these things are possible, but at the same time we can't stop the work we are doing,” he said. It’s important for Canadians to show their support for the LGBT community in the wake of the Orlando shooting, Chantelois said Monday. The Orlando massacre was the worst mass shooting in U.S. The meeting was called after a gunman opened fire on the crowd at a popular gay club in Orlando, killing 49 people and leaving dozens of others injured. Mathieu Chantelois, Executive Director of Pride Toronto, sat down with Toronto police, RCMP and staff from the Prime Minister’s Office on Monday go over the security plans in place for the Pride parade, which will see thousands of individuals descend on the city’s downtown core in less than three weeks. And I ask this morning, and again, that all of us take stock of our freedoms and not cower in the face of terrorism or terrorists who are trying to intimidate us.Security will be increased at this year's Toronto Pride Parade in the wake of the mass shooting at an Orlando LGBT nightclub. "It was an attack on our common values that we all share. "This was not an attack on one location and it was not an attack on one city," Emanuel said Monday. Mayor Rahm Emanuel remained defiant and vowed not to reschedule the city's traditional celebrations.
![gay pride orlando 2016 dates gay pride orlando 2016 dates](https://s.hdnux.com/photos/47/24/70/10309169/3/1200x0.jpg)
OEMC officials also noted that authorities recently increased the number of police barricades along the parade route, altered the route to alleviate crowd congestion and designated clearer routes for emergency responders to reach medical tents. In addition to the regular staffing provided by Chicago police, PRIDEChicago is nearly doubling its security staff of off-duty officers from 90 last year to 160 this year. The route will not change - starting at North Broadway Street and West Montrose Avenue, finishing at West Diversey Parkway and North Cannon Drive - but the number of parade entries has been cut from 215 to 160, Pfeiffer said. Pfeiffer also said new security measures to protect parade participants and spectators were already in place before the Orlando attack. It's important to remember why we celebrate Pride and remember that love will win." "We will be looking out for our patrons and for each other. "Security measures are obviously going to be heightened," Balof said.