Orlando Shooting Leaves Gay Survivors, Mourning Families Struggling With Secrets
ORLANDO,Fla.—After Sunday’s massacre at the Pulse nightclub, the family of Enrique Rios Jr. got the agonizing news that he was among the dead. They also learned for the first time that he was in a gay relationship.
Mr. Rios and others were outed in the most abrupt and public way. Many patrons at the gay nightclub had crafted compartmentalized lives, letting only certain friends, colleagues and family members know that they were gay.
For some, Sunday’s massacre at the club revealed their sexual orientation to the world; some survivors are dealing not only with trauma but also with trying to explain their secret lives to relatives. Some families are learning that loved ones who died were gay and had been afraid to say so.
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Some gay men who lost partners in the massacre say they are grieving privately so as not to upset more socially conservative family members. “It’s been extremely hard for me,” said the boyfriend of one victim, who declined to be named because his own conservative parents don’t know he is gay. “I haven’t been able to speak my voice and mourn him in a proper way.”
Others are mourning publicly—surprising relatives, like the Rios family. Cory Richards sobbed this week as he recalled becoming separated from Mr. Rios. Mr. Richards, 24, said the pair, both from New York, were dating and in Orlando on their first vacation together. “He was the most loving person ever,” he said.
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The organization of development for Equality Florida, mostly has been overwhelmed by support, Michael Farmer, deputy director said. So far, whether families knew or didn’t know about a victim’s sexual orientation, the reaction has been about “really just coming together to love those people” after the shooting, he said. He hasn’t heard of any examples of people rejecting partners or gay friends of victims as families prepare to bury their loved ones.
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On Sunday night after the shooting, for instance, the church oriented toward the gay community held a packed special service for the victims. More than 200 showed up, many standing along the walls. Ms. Laws, who helped lead the service, told the crowd that if people were worried about being outed by camera crews or photographers, they should move to the back of the room.
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http://www.wsj.com/articles/orlando-shooting-leaves-gay-survivors-mourning-families-struggling-with-secrets-1466189740
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Sad.
= new reply since forum marked as read
"if people were worried about being outed by camera crews or photographers, they should move to the back of the room. "
