Palatine Sikh society holds vigil for Orlando victims

The Palatine Sikh Religious Society hosted a candlelight vigil Wednesday to honor the lives of the 49 people killed in Orlando June 12.

Eight speakers representing the Sikh, LGBTQ, Muslim and gun violence prevention communities addressed the standing room only crowd at the Sikh Religious Society gurdwara, 1280 Winnetka St. in Palatine.

Marcus Hamilton, who works with local nonprofit Youth Outlook that offers counseling to LGBTQ children from 11 to 20 years old, said that as a gay man, he lost a piece of himself after the shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando last Saturday.

"It was an attack on Muslims, it was an attack on Sikhs, it was an attack on Christians," Hamilton said. "It was an attack on people of good will everywhere."

The Sikh community knows the pain caused by hate and violence. In 2012, a man with connections to white supremacists shot and killed six worshippers at a Sikh gurdwara in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, which several speakers referred to during the evening.

There also were several calls to action to the large interfaith crowd who attended the vigil.

"We cannot pray away the violence, the shootings," said Gaurav Singh, a member of the Sikh community who emceed the program. "Let's honor their lives through action."

Maria Pike, a Chicago woman representing gun control advocacy groups Everytown For Gun Sense and Moms Demand Action, said the day her son was killed outside his apartment in Logan Square in 2012 was the day she became an activist.

"I'm feeling very humbled by your presence because I know that the fact that you are here means that you care," Pike told the large crowd. "It means that we are one."

After the candlelight vigil, which included a reading of the names of the 49 Orlando victims, everyone sat down on the ground as a sign of support to lawmakers in Washington, who staged a sit-in on the House floor on Wednesday.