Hundreds gathered at Tucson's Philip Walsted Memorial Wednesday night to mourn Vincent Anthony Siqueiros, 42, and Cameron Davis Capara, 33, killed outside the gay bar Venture-N in a suspected hate crime.

Attendees carried Pride flags, candles and signs emblazoned with the words "Vincent & Cameron: Siempre Presente," or "Always present," with elected officials, community members and representatives from local groups standing in solidarity to demand action.

"Vincent asked me six days ago, who would be there?" Siqueiros' sister, Kate Marquez, said to the crowd. "Tonight, Tucson, my home of 45 years, you did exactly what I knew the special community can do when we come together: you answered him. Look who is here, Vincent."

Marquez pointed to a post by singer Jennifer Lopez on social media about the shooting.

"Heartbroken over yet another senseless act of violence against our LGBTQIA+ community," Lopez wrote. "Sending love and strength to everyone in Tucson, and to the loved ones of those we lost. You are seen, you are loved."

Marquez told attendees the message had a deeper significance beyond its words.

"If you knew my brother you know how much joy the music of Jennifier Lopez and Mariah Carey meant to him," she said.

On Monday, hours after the shooting, Tucson Mayor Regina Romero and Tucson police declared the incident a hate crime.

Romero was on hand Wednesday night, offering words of comfort to attendees and members of Tucson's LGBTQ+ community.

"No están solos. You are not alone," she said. "We are with you. We love you. You are part of us. And as we suffer together, we heal together."

Romero said the evening's gathering spot was intentional.

"It is significant that we gather at the Philip Walsted Memorial, whose life was tragically taken as a result of a hate crime in 2002, after leaving IBTs down the street," Romero said. "As your mayor, I will always stand up for the rights, dignity and safety of our LGBTQ-plus Tucsonans."

Earlier in the week, U.S. Rep. Adelita Grijalva spoke to the House floor, calling on Congress to "pass common sense gun safety laws" and holding a moment of silence.

"It is cultivated by anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric, laws, polices, and executive orders. And it is the direct consequence of this body's failure to act on gun violence," Grijalva said.

Back in Tucson, friends and family reflected on Siqueiros' and Capara's impacts on the community.

"Cameron was truly the best of us. His huge heart, sense of humor, and fiery dedication to his beliefs and to our community, are some of the many reasons our city is reeling from this loss," Tucson Movement Photographers wrote on Instagram. "His contributions to documenting everything from the U of A encampments to Tucson's queer nightlife will be instrumental in influencing the way Tucson is remembered for years to come."

Local poet T.C. Tolbert posted on Instagram that hate crimes don't happen in isolation, arguing that anti-LGBTQ+ violence is fueled by anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric, policies, religious teachings, laws and executive orders, and that anyone contributing to that climate bears responsibility for the deaths, which he called preventable.

"Cameron and Vinny deserved long, joyful lives," Tolbert wrote. "I'm full of rage and grief that they were senselessly murdered by one person with the support of an entire system."

Vigil attendee Sylvia Skinner echoed that grief.

"Why does this keep happening?" she asked. She said she hopes people will realize gay people aren't hurting anyone and that society will "leave people alone and let them live their lives being who they were created to be."

Maria Soenhensen, a member of Tucson Anti-War Committee, told the crowd about her experience with Capara, calling him an incredible organizer.

"I don't know if he would have said that about himself, but I think so," she said. "And I never had a chance to tell him."

She also reflected on his other talents.

"Cameron was a great photographer who captured beautiful and painful and scary moments. Through the newspapers and social media, and everywhere that Cameron made people feel really special," she said. "He made us feel really safe, even in some really ugly and scary and dark times."

Marlon Bedoy is a Pima Community College student and Tucson Spotlight intern. Contact him at marl.star.nn@gmail.com.

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