On Firedoglake I wrote about two recent events in the LGBTQ community, the Austin Stonewall Rally and a vigil for the two victims of the Portland, Texas shooting:
There was an even bigger sense of community — and I believe a bigger turn out — the following day for a vigil for Kristene Chapa and Mollie Olgin, the two victims of a shooting in Portland, Texas, one of two dozen vigils organized across North America by Get Equal TX. Mollie Olgin died at the scene, but her girlfriend Mary Kristene Chapa remains in the hospital without health insurance, though she has recovered consciousness, motion to one side of her body, and memory of the night of the shooting. In Austin, our numbers filled City Hall steps and spilled over beyond.
This vigil was a beautiful example of what the Austin queer community can do when it comes together. Though I don’t wish to politicize this tragedy, nonetheless I imagine what kind of power we’d have if all the people present on the Austin City Hall steps last Friday also helped us Occupy Independence Day or fought together for equality in other ways. Regardless of my concerns over whether Pride events are increasingly beholden to the corporate “pink dollar,” it was wonderful to see so many proud drag queens represented at the Stonewall rally.
Below you’ll find a photo gallery from both events. All photos are copyright Kit O’Connell, except for the Stonewall Rally & No More Mr. Nice Queer photos by Lainie Duro.
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