The manager of a gay bar in Edmonton said the deadly mass shooting at an Orlando nightclub hits close to home.
Rob Browatzke, manager of Evolution Wonderlounge in the downtown core, said he and his staff were cleaning and packing up for the night when they heard the first reports of the shooting.
READ MORE: Orlando shooting: 50 people killed, 53 injured at gay nightclub in Florida
“It’s pretty crazy,” he said.
“It was just shock right? It was completely surreal.”
Browatzke, who came out in the 1990s, said he has carried subconscious worry about a similar incident happening to him.
“We are faced, as a community, with crazy and inexplicable hatred all the time,” he explained.
Kris Wells, faculty director at the Institute of Sexual Minority Studies and Services at the University of Alberta, said those who are LGBTQ live with the constant threat of violence.
“This is an ever-present reality for many LGBTQ people,” he said.
“This is a worst nightmare come true. That our safe places are being taken away from us.”
Wells said a gay bar or nightclub is a place where those who are LGBTQ can truly be themselves and feel safe.
“There are so many places in society where it’s not safe to be who you are, to show your love for your partner. To be in a bar in a community is a space where you can just be yourself without fear, without threat, hopefully without violence. But when that’s taken away, people really reel and wonder: ‘where are we safe?'”
READ MORE: Moment of silence for Orlando shooting victims begins Edmonton Pride Brunch
Browatzke has managed Evolution since it opened three years ago.
“It’s very much not just a business; it’s a family. To think this could happen and has happened to our extended nightclub family… Luckily I don’t know anyone who was at Pulse last night,” he said.
Many advocates and allies have said the shooting demonstrates why Pride is still relevant and important, something Browatzke agrees with. The shooting took place as Edmonton wrapped up its Pride Week festivities.
“I definitely think it was an eye-opener on why we have Pride.
“I know it’s a question we get asked from people not members of the community. It’s a question now that people within the community also ask,” he said.
It is unknown whether Evolution will install more security measures in the aftermath of the incident. Browatzke said customers and staff act as the eyes and ears for any suspicious activity.
A candlelight vigil is planned for 8 p.m. at the Alberta Legislature Sunday.
Edmonton Pride is organizing the event, called “We Stand With Orlando.”
There will also be a card of condolences on site for anyone who would like to offer messages of support and hope.
Edmonton’s High Level Bridge will be lit in Pride colours Sunday night “in support of the LGBTQ spirit and community,” the city said.