Sioux Falls, SD (KELO AM) - Dozens of people gathered at 11th and Phillips in Downtown Sioux Falls to march in support of the victims of the terrorist attack at an Orlando nightclub on Monday.
The march was organized by the South Dakota Peace and Justice Center, director Pam Lopez said the event came together in about 24 hours. She said the purpose of the march was to show the strength of the LGBT community and as a call for gun control reform. "The GLBT community is grizzly and strong in the face of any kind of hateful attacks, and this one was totally ... too much. So we come together to support each other." Others said they came out as a show of respect for humanity, "these people that were targeted, they were everyone's community. they were more than their sexuality. We lost brothers, sisters, significant others, friends, family. I'm here marching for the beating hearts that are no longer beating."
The march began with a prayer for peace, understanding, and inclusion. Marchers lit candles in memory of the victims, and children drew signs with messages that read "love is beautiful" while others held signs saying "everytown for gun safety," which was another theme of the march. "We've had this problem over and over again, these kind of crimes need to stop," said Lopez. She went on to call for "common-sense gun laws," adding she does not want to take guns away from people altogether, but instead "do what we can to prevent [this kind of crime], and one of those things we can do is change some of our gun laws."
The Center for Equality in Sioux Falls supported the march as well. Thomas Christensen opened the event by calling the attack a tragedy that has brought everyone together. "We want the world to know, we want Sioux Falls to know that we are strong, and acts like this will not weaken us." A prayer of mourning for the victims and celebration for how far the LGBT community has come was then offered before the march.
Supporters of the march also had words for the gunman in the Orlando shootings and anyone who still harbors hatred for LGBT people. One man said he feels that many people still don't know what it means to share love for people despite their differences. "It's [a] lack of education and knowledge, it's the ignorance. I don't know what my message would be to ISIL or anyone that does these shootings besides that... I'm sorry that they felt that was necessary. I'm sorry that they felt alone. Because we all feel alone at times, we are a community, and we need to be there for everyone."