Over 47 years, the Seattle Gay News has covered thousands of stories that still resonate today. This week we look back at Vol. 44, Issue 25, published on June 17, 2016.

The Pulse massacre

June 12 is the fifth anniversary of an event that brought sadness and anger to the LGBTQ community, the night when one man opened fire on the patrons of the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Fla. As SGN Associate Editor Shaun Knittel reported, "[FBI officials say that] in the early morning hours of Sunday, June 12, minutes past 2 a.m., Omar Mateen, 29, an American citizen born to parents who immigrated to the US from Afghanistan, committed the worst mass shooting in American history, leaving 49 people dead and 53 wounded, when he began to shoot people on the dance floor of Pulse, a popular Gay nightclub in Orlando, with bullets from an assault rifle and a handgun.

"Within the first few minutes of entering the club and firing at his targets, nearly all of the confirmed dead had been shot, although the horror was far from over. After engaging in a shootout with an Orlando police officer employed as security by the club and surviving another shooting match with police who responded immediately after the carnage began, Mateen held 30 hostages inside one of the nightclub's bathrooms for the next three hours until, minutes after 5 a.m., fearing that he would kill the hostages, SWAT officers blasted and bored a hole into the exterior of the bathroom wall, freed the hostages, and shot Mateen dead.

"All over the world, including in Seattle, which saw one of the largest crowds of all (thousands of people filled Cal Anderson Park on Sunday night as Seattle Mayor Ed Murray, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, and leaders from the local LGBTQ community spoke out to condemn the attack), candlelight vigils were held to mourn the dead and call for gun reform, specifically, a ban on semiautomatic rifles like the Sig Sauer MCX used by Mateen."

A call for unity

On June 13, over 70 organizations signed a statement calling on the community to come together. The statement read, "We the undersigned organizations working on the front lines of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) movement share in the profound grief for those who were killed and many more who were wounded during Latin Night at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla. Their lives were lost or forever altered in this devastating act of violence targeting LGBTQ people. Our hearts go out to all the family and friends touched by this horrific act. We know their lives will never be the same again."

The statement concluded, "As LGBTQ people who lived through the AIDS crisis, we know what it looks like and feels like to be scapegoated and isolated in the midst of a crisis that actually requires solidarity, empathy, and collaboration from all quarters. We appeal to all in our movement and all who support us to band together in rejecting hatred and violence in all its shape-shifting forms. Let us stand united as a diverse LGBTQ community of many faiths, ethnicities, nationalities, and backgrounds."

Copycat?

While there was attention on the tragedy in Orlando, another potential one was avoided on the opposite coast, as reported by Shaun Knittel: "A similar massacre was avoided in Santa Monica, Calif., where police found loaded assault rifles, rounds of ammunition, and 25 pounds of explosive chemicals in a white Acura sedan belonging to James Wesley Howell. Howell, a self-described sociopath, said he was on his way to LA Pride. Authorities say he also had a Taser, handcuffs, a buck knife, a canister of gasoline, a security badge, and a black hood.

"Questions about Howell's sexual orientation, such as with Mateen, and how the two men dealt with it in their lives, are begging for answers. Just like the Orlando killer, Howell had same-sex relations in his past. In fact, police say that last October, an ex-boyfriend accused Howell of pointing a rifle at him and threatening to pull the trigger — though no arrest was made. The following day he was accused of pointing a loaded handgun at a neighbor, although at that time, Howell was arrested. Police say he agreed to forfeit his weapons and plead guilty to a misdemeanor intimidation charge, and he was then free to go home."

Seattle mourns Orlando

Then-Mayor Ed Murray delivered the following remarks on Sunday, June 12, during a vigil at Capitol Hill's Cal Anderson Park in the aftermath of the Orlando mass shooting. According to the transcript, "We are gathered on this summer evening during the month we celebrate Pride to share our grief and support each other as we absorb the news of the largest mass shooting in our nation's history and the largest act of violence against the LGBTQ community in our nation's history. We gather tonight in solidarity with those who lost their lives, and we offer our support to their families and to the people of the City of Orlando.

"We are also here this evening because the slaughter of our brothers and sisters was meant to spread fear throughout LGBTQ communities across this country. We will, as we have in the past, face this fear. We will not be intimidated. We will stand strong. We will stand together as a community. The mostly young people in that club were doing something very important: they were out, they were living their joyous lives, they were not afraid.

"We cannot be surprised, but still, we are shocked and shaken in our pain and anger and disbelief. And as we learn the stories of those who lost their lives and those who tried to help them, this pain will only grow deeper and the anger greater and the disbelief more profound in the days ahead. As difficult as all this is, we cannot give in to despair. The greatest way we can honor those whose lives were lost is to recommit ourselves to hope, to that promise that someday being LGBTQ and out at a club is not an act of bravery — because gone is the threat that it might end in slaughter because of who you are.

"To young people in particular, I urge you, despite this tragedy, not to give in to the sense that nothing can be done. Instead, I ask you to engage like never before. Our community looks to you, more than ever, to build on the gains that we've made and to offer a future of hope.

"Along with the Council, with Chief [Kathleen] O'Toole, and the men and women of the Seattle Police Department, I promise that this City will do all we can in a free society to prevent a tragedy like this from occurring in our community.

"As we leave here, the sun will set and night will fall. Some of us will pray, some will hold our loved ones closest, some will redouble their commitment to the movement, some will do all of these things. All of us will find ways to make sure those who were murdered in the early hours of this morning did not die in vain. We will live in hope and not fear; we will find ways to bridge what divides us.

"Finally, when night falls and we think of those who lost their lives, think of the words I will now paraphrase from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet:

And when they shall die,

Take them and cut them out in little stars,

And they will make the face of heaven so fine

That all the world will be in love with night

And pay no worship to the garish sun."

Seahawks drama

When Seattle Seahawk punter Jon Ryan deleted all of his social media accounts, there was an uproar among fans. The move came after Ryan had a bitter exchange with a homophobic fan, according to SGN Associate Editor Shaun Knittel: "On Sunday, Ryan made a post on Instagram referring to the tragedy in Orlando, in which 49 people were killed at Pulse, a Gay nightclub. The post was a simple rainbow photo with the words 'more love #orlando'. Among the responses, according to the Seattle Times, was one asking, 'Where in the bible does it say it's ok to be homosexual?'

"'Please unfollow me,' Ryan responded. 'You're a terrible human being... please stop cheering for the Seahawks. We don't want a piece of [expletive] fans like you. Thanks.'

"Shortly after, Ryan says he deleted his accounts and maintains that the decision was his own."

Queens for a cause

One bright spot this week was when Peaches Christ teamed up with Bianca Del Rio for their parody Whatever Happened to Bianca Del Rio? at the Egyptian Theatre on June 23. Fifty percent of the profits from the 9 p.m. show were donated to Equality Florida.

Updates: After the tragedy in Orlando, the community came together to form a new organization called One Orlando Alliance. The organization consists of representatives from numerous LGBT organizations. Look for a Seattle version to debut in 2022.

Hate and gun violence got worse in the past five years.

Jon Ryan rejoined Instagram in 2018.