Current and former Newtown residents who are part of the LGBT community, responding to requests for reflections about Sunday's massacre at a gay Orlando nightclub, reacted with sadness and hopes that the event did not reverse immense progress that has been made in recent years in terms of acceptance and inclusion.'Sad For Newtown'Flying The Flag'Love Is Love'

According to Associated Press reports, around 2 am, June 12, a 29-year-old male opened fire at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla., using a handgun and semiautomatic assault rifle, leaving 49 victims dead and more than 50 others wounded before he was killed in a shootout with SWAT team members.

Former Newtown resident Ashley LaRocque, who recently relocated to Colorado, said, "On Sunday morning I think it is safe to say we all woke up and said a few extra 'I love yous' to our family members and friends, as we are reminded once again of the frailty of life, and the state of our nation in its fight against many enemies, in their many forms."

Sunday also brought thoughts about many of Ms LaRocque's friends in Los Angeles, who were celebrating Pride Weekend in West Hollywood.

"I thought of what the LGBT community has taught me, not just about being a member of that community, but about being a member of the human race," she said. "If I have learned one thing from the LGBT community, it is that we are all family ... and like families do, we support and lean on one another, always working together to encourage positive change."

Regardless of one's personal orientation, she hopes that everyone can take away the same message from the ever-growing number of the types of tragedies that befell her own hometown.

"That in order to make positive change, we must work together, supporting those around us, regardless of who they are, what they believe in, or what community they consider themselves a member of," Ms LaRocque said.

Former Newtown resident Grace Clark recently traveled to Tampa, Fla., for the summer. She said her proximity to the incident resulted in a number of friends, who knew she was in Florida, texting and calling to be sure she was okay.

After the full weight of the tragedy began setting in, Ms Clark said she reached out to others in Tampa's LGBT community and was initially relieved to learn that none of them had lost loved ones.

"It's still not much of a comfort, though, because the people who died and were hurt do have many loved ones who are suffering today," she said. "It's very upsetting."

She was gratified to see so many members of the community were stepping up and lining up - some waiting for hours - to give blood, and was touched upon hearing that members of the Orlando Police Department held a moment of silence to honor the victims.

"Most of the people I've seen have expressed nothing but compassion, especially many from Muslim communities," she said. "I know that the person who did this was apparently a member of the Muslim community, but we can't let that divide us. It's wonderful to see that while Muslim communities are dealing with this latest tragedy, they remain supportive of the LGBT community."

Chris Lyddy, a former state representative and member of the Governor's Sandy Hook Advisory Commission was equally passionate, although he acknowledged he was still trying to come to grips with the sheer horror faced by hundreds of patrons at the Pulse nightclub, by all accounts a gathering place where members of the LGBT community went to party and dance in an accepting and ostensibly secure environment.

"This one messed me up," Mr Lyddy said. "Our brains are simply not equipped to understand all of this violence. I am still stirring and ruminating about this. I am constantly sick to my stomach and am on the verge of tears at any given moment."

The former state lawmaker said in the days to come - as investigations continue alongside funerals for the 49 victims who perished and as the more than 50 who were injured continue recovering - "the best and worst of humanity will surface as we make our way through this painstaking grief caused by the callous and cowardly actions of a man filled with hate and armed with a weapon of war."

At the same time, Mr Lyddy said, "I am sad for Newtown as yet again we stand witness to a horrific mass murder, a disgusting and grotesque reminder of the tragedy that unfolded in our community several years ago.

"But, let us not forget the good work being done by so many Sandy Hook legacy organizations and the other longstanding Newtown organizations that work every day to promote peace, love and healing in our community," he added. "They are the real heroes who stand in the face of adversity and hatred."

Newtown High School alumna Ellie Nikitchyuk was riding high following her graduation last Saturday only to have that joy muted a day later as she began hearing news of the Orlando event. As the older sister of a Sandy Hook survivor and former president of the NHS Gay Straight Alliance, the situation hit home in a big way.

"I was shocked over the number of victims who died, but I wasn't shocked to hear there had been another shooting," Ms Nikitchyuk said. "When I heard it was a hate crime and directed at LGBT people, it made me feel that we suffered a giant step backwards with things that we'd been working towards, like the achievements around gay marriage."

Ms Nikitchyuk said she has been talking with many of her NHS peers since the shootings.

"We just keep reminding ourselves that love trumps hate, and that our actions now reflect our community as a whole," she said. "So we need to keep strong and resilient, while continuing to fight for the things we believe in."

Another recent NHS graduate, Noelle Veillette, said one of the first things she did was set out a rainbow gay pride flag in front of her Sandy Hook home.

"I was out of state when I first heard the news, and I started calling everybody," Ms Veillette said. "And all I kept hearing was how this was bringing the entire LGBT community together. But it also started feeling like Sandy Hook all over again."

She likened the suffering among her friends and especially those in and from Newtown's LGBT community to what the entire town and eventually many across the globe were feeling as the news about 12/14 began circulating.

"There isn't much of an LGBT community in town, but there is a pocket of us who are suffering just like we did in 2012," Ms Veillette said. "We try to talk about it, but I think a lot of times when we do, it sounds too political. People assume whenever we talk about a hate crime it becomes political."

As the body count increased and stories about those lost began to emerge, Ms Veillette said she was heartbroken at the sheer loss.

"These were just people - a lot of them… most of them my age - who were living life brilliantly and beautifully, and someone decided that just wasn't good enough," she said. "These people were celebrating Pride Month - just having fun and being kids in a place we thought was made safe for ourselves. Why does someone have to go in and defile it and hurt everyone… it's astounding."

Ms Veillette said she was fighting the frustration of thinking LGBT progress had been set back, but at the same time feared the Orlando incident may have been a result of a long tradition of ill will and violence toward gay people.

"Marriage equality just isn't enough when so many members of the LGBT community are still victims of assault and murder, and that has been going on for far too long," she said.

Ms LaRocque said that the phrase "Love is Love" is synonymous with LGBT equality.

"But in revisiting what that phrase means to me, I don't just think about equality for my community.   I think about all forms of love shared among all types of people," she said. "Love is what unites us all. It is the one common thread we all share: love for a significant other, a son or a daughter, a friend. Just like the children of Sandy Hook Elementary, the young adults in Aurora, Colorado, and countless others in our not-too-distant past, we are all the same during times like these.

"Let us not only remove our barriers and lower our swords of judgment in our remembrance of the people lost this past weekend, but let us keep those swords lowered in the uphill climb we all share to a more unified, more loving and, most importantly, a safer future for our country," Ms LaRocque added.

Mr Lyddy said since the Orlando tragedy, he has heard many people proudly state that they stand in solidarity with the LGBT community, but "these statements have given me great pause."

"Really? Show me how you stand with us," Mr Lyddy challenged. "Do you stand with us in your house of worship as we get lambasted on Sunday mornings? Do you stand with us when we want to be treated as equal citizens? Do you stand with us in the quietest of moments, at your dinner table as your closeted gay son or bisexual daughter secretly contemplates suicide because they hear how you and others talk about the LGBT community?"

With that said, Mr Lyddy acknowledged being "heartened by the genuine love and outpouring of support the LGBT community has received in the last several days.

"But it takes more than just saying you'll stand with us to change the hearts and minds of those who prefer to perpetuate hate and who long to wreak violence and havoc on our community," he said. "We must do better at promoting love in our world, but it must start in our hearts, our homes and our communities."

Mr Lyddy said it can't simply be an empty promise to ourselves, to our children, or to our neighbors.

"We must truly hold each other accountable for promoting the most basic and fundamental gift we each have to offer one another, and it must show in our actions, not just our words; for this not just helps us to heal after tragic events, it might just help prevent one from happening in the first place."

Ms Clark said that she knows her friends and family in Newtown have a right and reason to feel how they feel about this latest event, which is now classified as the worst mass shooting in US history.

"Especially for those who experienced the tragedy of 12/14 a few years ago," she said, "I hope they use their experience, and the wisdom, love and knowledge they have gained to take action to prevent something like this from happening again."