On Saturday, June 25th, a shooting targeting a popular LGBTQ+ pub in Oslo, Norway, resulted in two deaths and twenty-one injuries. A memorial service was held for the victims, and thousands of citizens gathered with the leaders of the community to show concern for the devastating event.
The man responsible for the shooting is known to be of Iranian descent. He was seen in the early morning of Saturday to have taken out guns and started firing at the people after arriving at the bar, and police later found one of the two guns to be a shocking, fully automatic gun. He was arrested with the help of citizens by the police soon.
The attack on the LGBTQ+ community did nothing to weaken the heart of the people. Thousands of people took to the streets with rainbow-colored flags to promote Pride and many were shouting, “We’re here, we’re queer, and we won’t disappear!”
During the day, the city was full of people who wanted to speak out, about sorrow and anger, but also about support and solidarity and the will to continue fighting, for the right of every individual to live a free life, a safe life.
Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere shared, “These misdeeds remind us of this. This fight is not over. It is not safe from dangers. But we are going to win it, together.”
“We see that we can learn, sometimes in spite of ourselves, that diversity is a present, a richness, and that many homosexuals have a capacity for love that we are incapable of,” Olav Fykse Tveit, a leader of the Norwegian Protestant Church said, “Bullets cannot kill love.”
A woman told reporters that the suspect was found to be her neighbor and was scared because her partner is a woman. She commented about Pride and this attack against it, “Our case is strengthened – not his.”
The Oslo Cathedral held a memorial on Sunday for the victims of the shooting and was attended by many people, including the Prime Minister of Norway, the Crown Princess Mette-Marit, and other royal members. The church was decorated extravagantly with vivid flowers and rainbow flags in honor of Pride.
Despite such solidarity, the incident still left the city in fear, which caused the Pride parade that was set to happen that day to be canceled. However, the Prime Minister of Norway, Jonas Gahr Stoere, expressed that the choice did not silence the people’s sentiments regarding discrimination.
Sources: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-61941172
The man responsible for the shooting is known to be of Iranian descent. He was seen in the early morning of Saturday to have taken out guns and started firing at the people after arriving at the bar, and police later found one of the two guns to be a shocking, fully automatic gun. He was arrested with the help of citizens by the police soon.
The attack on the LGBTQ+ community did nothing to weaken the heart of the people. Thousands of people took to the streets with rainbow-colored flags to promote Pride and many were shouting, “We’re here, we’re queer, and we won’t disappear!”
During the day, the city was full of people who wanted to speak out, about sorrow and anger, but also about support and solidarity and the will to continue fighting, for the right of every individual to live a free life, a safe life.
Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere shared, “These misdeeds remind us of this. This fight is not over. It is not safe from dangers. But we are going to win it, together.”
“We see that we can learn, sometimes in spite of ourselves, that diversity is a present, a richness, and that many homosexuals have a capacity for love that we are incapable of,” Olav Fykse Tveit, a leader of the Norwegian Protestant Church said, “Bullets cannot kill love.”
A woman told reporters that the suspect was found to be her neighbor and was scared because her partner is a woman. She commented about Pride and this attack against it, “Our case is strengthened – not his.”
The Oslo Cathedral held a memorial on Sunday for the victims of the shooting and was attended by many people, including the Prime Minister of Norway, the Crown Princess Mette-Marit, and other royal members. The church was decorated extravagantly with vivid flowers and rainbow flags in honor of Pride.
Despite such solidarity, the incident still left the city in fear, which caused the Pride parade that was set to happen that day to be canceled. However, the Prime Minister of Norway, Jonas Gahr Stoere, expressed that the choice did not silence the people’s sentiments regarding discrimination.
Sources: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-61941172
