They came from all facets of queer life, hundreds of people gathered at the corner of Church and Wellesley streets tonight to stand vigil against homophobic violence.

Watch our video report:

Starting shortly before 8pm, the crowd soon spilled into the roadway. After a series of moving speeches, well documented by mainstream media, the crowd devoted a moment of silence to gay and lesbian people who have died because of homophobia.

The crowd then marched peacefully to Queen's Park, chanting “End the silence on homophobic violence.” Police stopped traffic.

It happened after a series of recent reports of suicides among young gay people in Canada and the US, including those of Jeanine Blanchette and Christine Dube, who died this past weekend in Orangeville.