Hundreds Gather in Portland to Light Candles for the Victims of Orlando Nightclub Killings

Hundreds of people gathered in front of Portland dance club Embers tonight to express sympathy and solidarity with the victims of a mass shooting at a gay bar in Orlando, Fla.

At least 800 people packed the streets outside Embers, holding candles and shutting down more than a full city block outside the club. Speakers including Portland Mayor Charlie Hales and acting Police Chief Donna Henderson told the crowd that love and civil rights would triumph over anti-LGBTQ violence.

Multnomah County Commission candidate Eric Zimmerman, who helped organize the vigil, opened with remarks urging Portland's LGTBQ community not to be intimidated.

"Do not stop dancing," Zimmerman said, according to social-media reports by Bitch Magazine editor Sarah Mirk. "Do not stop kissing. Do not stop being visible. Do not stop being. You are all loved."

Hales told the crowd that on Monday, city workers would take down the city flag in front of Portland City Hall and replace it with a rainbow flag.

Hales spoke while wearing a brightly colored plaid shirt.

"I wore plaid because we should mourn," the mayor said. "We should wear black in mourning. But within the confines of my uniform, I wore my rainbow."

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Photos by Clifford King, Maya Setton and Enid Spitz for Willamette Week.

Willamette Week