Police, clubs review safety after Orlando gay nightclub massacre
The mass shooting at an Orlando gay nightclub that left 49 people and the alleged shooter dead has set law enforcement, local officials, bars and nightclubs rethinking or beefing up safety.
With June being Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Pride Month, festivals and parades are kicking off across the country and local officials are making sure they don't see a repeat of the shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando that began in the wee hours last Sunday morning. Shooter Omar Mateen held patrons hostage inside the club for hours, forcing law enforcement to break through an exterior wall.
In New Orleans, officials were taking no chances, with a Pride Festival taking place this weekend as well as other large meetings. From Friday through Sunday, every officer in the police department will work in the district that includes Bourbon Street and the French Quarter, Mayor Mitch Landrieu said at a press conference Friday.
Special operations teams were ready to go in the event of an emergency, the city's level one trauma center at University Medical Center was poised for trouble and city officials were urging residents and visitors to speak up and contact police if they saw anything suspicious.
The city has had its own brushes with anti-gay violence, including a 1973 arson fire at a gay bar that killed 32, Landrieu said. New Orleans does not want a repeat of those instances or what happened last weekend, the mayor said.
“What happened in Orlando is very eerily familiar to the same kind of scenario that could play itself out not only in New Orleans, but in New York, Chicago, any other major city and anywhere in the heartland for that matter," Landrieu said.
At Mary's, a self-described dive bar in southeast Atlanta, patrons have been thinking and talking about what happened in Orlando. Patrons collected $200 to help the victims and their families during a drag queen contest this week, manager Marky Hatch said.
"It could have been us," Hatch said. "We are a popular bar in Atlanta and we do have a lot of people that get a little drunk and say the f word to us."
What is tricky about Mary's is that it's a small place, and the front door opens inward, Hatch said. These facts alone have caused the bar to give some thought about what would happen if a similar massacre happened there and patrons could not escape, he said.
"We're pretty resilient," he said. "Hopefully, nothing happens here or anywhere in Atlanta."
The Chicago Police Department said it was ready for the Pride Festival this weekend, and the New York City Police Department said it would likely beef up its police presence during the Pride March from Midtown to the Village on Sunday, June 26.
In San Francisco, the U.S. city with the highest rate of LGBT residents, the Pulse massacre struck a global nerve but being prepared and staying safe is part of the routine, said Scott Peterson, manager of the Powerhouse bar.
"Yes, there's concern, but we always beef up around gay pride (month)," Peterson said. "We have security cameras; everything is in place."