'We Are One Heartbeat': San Diego Gathers for Impromptu Vigil

San Diego, CA — “We are one because we want the same thing,” a woman said at an impromptu candlelight vigil Sunday night in Hillcrest.

“Is this our new normal?” one man said. “Is this how things are going to be?” The crowd then yelled, “No! Hell No!”

The event was as much a rally as it was a vigil for the lives lost in Orlando.

“Shocked. I’m shocked right now,” 18-year-old Trey Rook said. “I should have been in Orlando at this time, so it just hit home really hard for me.”

Rook was from Phoenix, Arizona but was planning a trip to visit Orlando.

The event was put together by Paul Rhodes, an LGBTQ activist.

“I am so moved that so many people came out over a Facebook invite or a phone call,” he said.

Rhodes, who identifies as a gay, transgender man, said seeing so many people at the event means San Diego is not OK with hate. More than 200 people gathered at the Pride Flag for the vigil.

“I got a message early on Facebook that told me to go back into the closet, but I said, ‘No, absolutely not. I’m here. I’m out. I’m loud. I’m proud. Thank you,” he said.

The event in Orlando was still very much in everyone’s mind. A gunman went into a gay nightclub and killed at least 50 people and wounded 53 others.

San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer quickly tried to put everyone’s fears at ease.

“We stand together — all of us — with Orlando tonight,” he said. “To see so many of you who have come out tonight to stand in solidarity says that San Diego does not support hate. San Diego does not support bigotry. San Diego does not support terror and will fight it every single day and every single night.”

Faulconer said the LBGTQ community represents every fabric and corner of San Diego’s society. That is evident by the people who came from every corner of the county to be at the event Sunday night, he said.

“Our strength is our unity,” Faulconer said. “Our strength is our diversity. That’s what sets us apart from so many places around the world.”

Security was a cause of concern for the officials present at the vigil, with the San Diego Pride Parade planned next month. Earlier Sunday, a man was arrested in Santa Monica with a car full of arsenals and explosives with possible intention to do harm at the Los Angeles Pride Festival and Parade in West Hollywood.

“This is pretty horrific and I think everyone in this crowd understands that it could be them,” San Diego Councilman Todd Gloria, who represents District 3, which includes Hillcrest, told Patch.

Gloria said the city is going to do more at the event, which is set for July 16 and 17, “to make folks feel comfortable. If people aren’t going to events and going to bars and going to enjoy themselves, they’re not exercising their freedom as Americans and in that situation, the bad guys have won."

Gloria noted that the gay rights movement started in a bar, Stonewall, and used his time at the lectern to advocate for gun control. The gunman in the Orlando attack, who was on the FBI watch list, bought guns legally a week before the attack.

“I hope we’ll lead this fight in pushing back against this terror,” he said. “Against this hate. Against this ability to get guns for people who are under federal investigation.”

Gloria asked crowd for help to fight so that there is not “another Orlando.”

“That’s there is not another Sandy Hook. And there’s not another Aurora. And there’s not another South Carolina. This happens too much in this country,” he said. “This doesn’t happen in other places. We should find a way to stop it.”

People at the event were clearly affected by the events of the day.

“We live in San Diego, that could have been us today,” one man who took to the lectern said. “We are saddened, we are devastated and we are in dread right now. The ideology of our lifestyle has been attacked today. The very pillars of which we find happiness and love and acceptance in the community were attacked today.”

One woman, who introduced herself as Ruby June, said her world was shattered Sunday.

“This was a personal attack for everything she stands for and for every woman she has ever loved,” June said through tears, referring to her best friend. “Each and everyone of us, we are one heartbeat.”

That sentiment was shared by the crowd.

“Unity, speaking with one voice, acceptance,” said David Meyers, who was there with his husband and their friends. “Coming together as a community in this time of crisis, in this time of healing and in this time to understand that everyone should come together.”

Cindy Burke brought her children out to the event to support her friend, David, because “we are one heartbeat,” she said. When she first heard the news Sunday, her first respond was complete sadness, she said.

“It’s heartbreaking,” Burke said. "It’s incomprehensible that someone could do so much violence and I just feel sad for everyone involved. We need to stand together. You can’t fix anything with hate.”

— Photo credit: Alexander Nguyen, Patch