The victims of the Orlando shooting were remembered at the Golden Handbags in Brighton last night (Sunday 12 June) with a minute’s noise.
Fifty people died and 53 were hurt in the worst mass shooting in America in a gay club, Pulse, in the Florida city in the early hours of yesterday morning.
James Ledward, the editor of gay magazine GScene and creator of the Golden Handbag awards, spoke before the minute’s noise.
He recognised how fortunate many of us are “in this bubble that we live in called Brighton” but said that the shooting reminded us of the need to be vigilant.
The awards recognise and reward those in the community who have worked selflessly in the past year to make Brighton and Hove a better place for LGBT people to live.
Among the winners were the Brighton Bear Weekend for their impressive fundraising efforts and mental health charity Mind Out.
A special award for “straight friends” went to a retired teacher from Hove, Elaine Evans, who hosted a table at the bash last night at the Metropole.
Brighton and Hove mayor Councillor Pete West, police commander Chief Superintendent Nev Kemp, Hove MP Peter Kyle and Brighton Kemptown MP Simon Kirby were among the guests at the event.
Bloody well done the #Brighton #bear #weekend for their seriously deserved award from @GoldenHandbags @BtnBearWkend pic.twitter.com/PX6p792wbO
— Kathy Caton (@kathycaton) June 12, 2016
