Thousands Attend Stonewall Vigil for Orlando Victims

In the wake of the nightclub massacre in Orlando, thousands of people gathered outside the historic Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village Monday night to call for an end to violence and hate.

Governor Andrew Cuomo urged stricter gun laws. "How many people have to die before this federal government comes to its sense," he asked.

Mayor Bill de Blasio invited people from across the country to come to what he hoped would be the biggest Gay Pride Parade in history on June 26. "It will be safe, and we will protect each other," he said. "And we will send a message to this nation and this world, of what our society should look like."

Mourners wiped away tears as they lay flowers at a makeshift memorial outside Stonewall's entrance, and inscribed victims names in chalk at the park across the street.

Mary Lou Devitt said she came to Stonewall a year ago to celebrate the U.S. Supreme Court's decision legalizing gay marriage. And she said she couldn't imagine being anywhere else right now.

"The answer really is to accept who you are," she said. "Accept who everyone else is. And love each other."

As the names of the victims were read, mourners turned their cell phones into tiny torches that glowed against the night sky.