PORT ANGELES — A group of about 30 people held hands and stood silently in a circle on Ediz Hook on Saturday, taking a moment to honor the lives of 49 people who were massacred at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla., earlier this month.
Not far off was a poster with the photos and names of the victims whose lives were being honored. Rainbow fabric was wrapped around driftwood, hanging over a banner that read “Port Angeles stands with Orlando.”
“I was in tears putting it together because it just breaks my heart that someone would do this,” said Shanee Wimberly, who organized the vigil. “These faces have become unfortunately familiar to us.”
Wimberly wiped tears from her eyes as she thanked people for attending the event, saying their presence proves she wasn’t the only person in Port Angeles shocked by what happened in the June 12 attack by Omar Mateen at the Pulse nightclub. Mateen was killed by police.
What moved Wimberly was that nearly everyone who attended the event spoke and shared their thoughts — without over-politicizing their message.
“It was completely peaceful,” she said.
For Wimberly, it didn’t matter how many people attended the event. She knew with the numerous events in Seattle throughout the weekend — including Seattle Pride — many would already have plans for the weekend.
“It didn’t matter to me if there was going to be 100 people here or five people,” she said. “What mattered to me was that people were going to take the time to commemorate these victims and take the time to be appreciative for their lives.”
After the event, many of those who attended hugged Wimberly and thanked her for organizing the event.
Among those who attended was Ellen Bonjorno of Port Townsend, who helped organize the candlelight vigil for Orlando victims held June 14 in Port Townsend.
“It was just so sweet and a beautiful example of how community works, that all of us here, many of us who don’t know each other, all corroborated to put up decorations,” she said. “That is what community is.”
Bonjorno said that now Americans are taught to fear anyone who isn’t already a friend or family, when all people actually need to do is be friendly.
“I’ve seen time and time again that if you are friendly to people, it causes a wave, a ripple of friendliness to continue,” she said.
The Rev. Kathryn Kenyon, who recently moved to Port Angeles, told the group that people need to stand up and try to change the status quo.
Immediately following the attack, Kenyon said she told her friends just to give her and others time to grieve — not to politicize what had happened.
“But now I’ve been doing some things,” she said.
Kenyon called U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and told her that assault weapons should be banned.
Until the shooting in Orlando, described as the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history, Kenyon firmly believed there was a place for high-capacity semiautomatic rifles, she said.
“Until that happened, I was pro-gun everywhere,” she said. “I was pro-gun 100 percent.
“If you need something to protect you and your family, fine, but no one needs an assault weapon.”
What people can’t do is stand by as mass shootings happen and do nothing, she said.
“It’s the American thing: people get hurt, get killed, get wounded,” she said. “Then we don’t do anything. Let’s do something.”
Deputy Mayor Cherie Kidd said the event shows that Port Angeles is a compassionate community.
“That shockwave went all the way from Orlando to Port Angeles,” she said. “We feel it.”
Kidd said people need to care for each other, love each other and show an outpouring of strength for friendship.
“Our tears join their tears because a lost soul is a tragedy for all of us,” she said.
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Reporter Jesse Major can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56250, or at jmajor@peninsuladailynews.com.
