JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Monday marks seven years since 49 people were killed and another 53 injured at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando.
The LGBTQ+ community and allies throughout Jacksonville came together to honor the lives that were lost.
"I'm 71 and I'm still out here, so I'm going to make my cause known," said Cheryl Ruppert at the Acosta Bridge Pride March.
Ruppert says she's been advocating for human rights for five decades, and she doesn't plan to stop any time soon.
Ruppert showed her support at the third annual Acosta Bridge Pride March.
The march started three years ago in an attempt to get the pride lights on the Acosta Bridge turned back on.
Now the lights are back, and the march has turned into an annual tradition.
State house representative Angie Nixon and newly elected City Councilman Jimmy Peluso came to show their support for the Pride community.
"For no matter who you are, the LGBTQ+ community is going to be safe at home here in Jacksonville," said Peluso.
This year, the march lined up with the 7th anniversary of the Pulse Nightclub shooting.
Organizers read off the names of each of the 49 people who were killed.
"See, I choke up every time I talk about it, because I know it's not the first time and certainly won't be the last that we get hatred from other people," said Ruppert. "No reason. They just do it."
The names of the 49 victims echoed across Jacksonville.
Moms Demand Action, an anti-gun violence activist group, had a vigil at a church on the Southside as well.
They read poems from survivors of the shooting, and wrote down names of victims lost to or impacted by gun violence.
Ruppert says she wishes more people turned out for the Pride events.
"I think some people are staying under the radar, but they're changing their tune," said Ruppert.