SCOTT PELLEY (HOST): There has been so much progress for the LGBT Community, but we are now reminded that fear is still a constant reality. Here is Mireya Villarreal.
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MIREYA VILLAREAL: From Los Angeles to New York, thousands of gay men and women stood in solidarity at vigils and makeshift monuments. Last night, singer Lady Gaga was among the crowd.
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But gay men, like Steve Scott, say this tragedy is especially significant.
STEVE SCOTT: I know what it's like to grow up with discrimination, and with people constantly coming after you physically, you know, emotionally. Knowing that people are going through that in a club, in a place that's supposed to be a safe place for the LGBT community is really, really jarring.
VILLAREAL: In 2015 there were 24 reports of gay and transgender homicides in a sampling of 11 states. That's a 20 percent increase from 2014. Lorri Jean is the CEO Of the LGBT Center in Los Angeles.
LORRI JEAN: The politicians who slander LGBT people, who say that we should be driven out of public life, that we're not fit to raise children, that we are a threat to the moral fabric of our society -- that kind of rhetoric promotes the kind of violence that happened yesterday.
VILLAREAL: Jean says the hate has been perpetuated through social media with tweets and videos, like this one posted by a Christian pastor in California.
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JEAN: We cannot allow this fear to silence us. We cannot allow this fear to push us back in the closet, because then the terrorists win.
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VILLAREAL: In the wake of the Orlando massacre, the Los Angeles Police Department has pledged to “protect the LGBT community with all their might.” Scott, several gay clubs and businesses here locally have also said they beefed up security to make sure they protect their customers.
