As New Zealanders rush to organise fundraisers for the victims of the mass shooting in Orlando, as yet, no fundraisers for the victims of the mass shooting in a gay bar in Xalapa are being planned. 20-year-old Luis Donaldo Rivera Calderón was killed in the shooting at Madame bar in Xalapa. On May 22nd gunmen stormed into La Madame gay bar in Xalapa, in the state of Veracruz, and sprayed bullets into the crowd of 200 patrons. Unofficial reports and a raft of eye-witness accounts put the number of dead at around 15 people. Official sources say this number sits at 7 dead and 12 injured. At least seven Orlando fundraisers have been organised across Auckland and Wellington by LGBTI community members. The majority of the money from these fundraisers will be going to the GoFundMe page set up for Pulse. The largest GoFundMe page for the victims in Orlando has reached $5 million dollars and there is a total of 300 campaigns listed for Pulse on the website. The fundraising campaign that the City of Orlando, OneOrlando.org, is already at $6.8 million in pledges. One Auckland fundraiser, organised by Urge, will be also donating to New Zealand’s own LGBTI support organisation OUTline and when asked, organisers say they would consider donating to Mexico but don’t know of a reputable crowd-funding website. A performer from another one of the fundraisers says “…for now, we do it one kaupapa at a time.”
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Friday, 17th June 2016 - 2:10pm