Gay Chicago Teens Concerned For Their Safety, In Wake Of Orlando

(CBS) -- Some Chicago teens who are openly gay are now concerned for their safety.

CBS 2's Dorothy Tucker talked with college-bound seniors.

At Whitney Young, there was a moment of silence Monday for the victims in Orlando -- and a reminder of the importance of tolerance.

The Gay Pride Club has been a fixture at Whitney M. Young Magnet High School for more than 20 years. Rosalina Torres, the current president, wonders whether she'll be safe when she ventures out to clubs when she goes to college.

That fear is echoed among Torres's fellow club members. The excitement of new friends and new places after high school is now replaced with uncertainty.

"I don't know where I can go, I don't know who I can go to," senior Kenyetta Johnson says. "It's not safe anymore."

Chicago's gay pride is next weekend. Ola Wilk-Branas usually joins the hundreds of thousands celebrating their community.

"My mom told me she'd be afraid if I went to the Pride Parade. I don't blame her," Wilk-Branas says.

"Verbal harassment is enough to put somebody back in the closet, so to speak," she adds. Potentially worse, Wilk-Branas says, is "the real threat of violence, of firearms."

"It makes you less open," says Tatiana Rodriguez. "Because you're sort of like, 'I have to keep this part of me concealed right now, because there's so much danger.' ... It's very hard because you know there's nothing wrong with you. But other people think there's something wrong with you."

Whitney young administrators are encouraging gay students and any others to talk to counselors about their feelings surrounding the Orlando shooting. The Gay Pride club is scheduled to meet on Wednesday for what they call a "family gathering," but all are welcome.

Also Monday, the Orlando massacre weighed on resident of Chicago's North Side, where Pride Fest events were scheduled this weekend.

As a precaution, Chicago police are stepping up patrols in the area. That's a comfort to members of the LGBT community, who say it's more important than ever to celebrate.

"We're not going to be put back in the shadows or in the closet because of this hate and this potential danger," Brian Johnson, CEO of Equality Illinois, says.