New London — Ever since a gunman shot and killed 49 people at Pulse nightclub in Orlando June 12, members of the LGBT community with local ties have been using their talents to help people grasp and respond to the tragedy.

For Connecticut College history professor Jim Downs, that means turning his thoughts into words in an effort to keep the history of violence against gays in the United States at the forefront of the conversation.

“In part because there’s a lack of historical consciousness about these moments of violence committed against gay people, immediately when something like this happens, the reaction is ‘this is the first time something like this has happened,’” Downs said of why he chose to write an opinion piece, which was published June 13 in The New York Times.

In the column, Downs — who’s currently on sabbatical as an Andrew W. Mellon New Directions Fellow at Harvard University — details the June 24, 1973, massacre at Upstairs Lounge, a gay bar in New Orleans.

Just before 8 that night, Downs explained, someone doused the stairs leading to the second-floor bar with lighter fluid, lit it and then rang the doorbell.

Fire spread rapidly through the lounge the moment someone inside opened the door, filling the room with smoke, knocking out the power and ultimately claiming 32 lives.

“The idea we could be attacked is not surprising,” Downs said, noting that many gay people feel scared about being outed or attacked the first time they walk into a gay bar, and that many still face harassment or violence in their workplaces and communities.

“Someone coming in with a gun, that’s much more extreme,” he continued. “But most gay people, they’re not strutting into gay bars. Most walk in with hesitation, and that’s because of the history of these bars and what it means to walk into a political space.”

Similar arsons occurred from Los Angeles to Nashville throughout the 1970s and although none had a death toll like that at Upstairs Lounge, all received more mockery than legitimate coverage in the mainstream press at the time, Downs said.

“There’s a history that hasn’t been told — that’s what I’m trying to emphasize,” he said, encouraging those discussing Orlando to focus on the victims rather than the shooter so their stories aren’t lost. "Violence has been a major theme of gay liberation for a long time."

Constance Kristofik, a New London resident and the executive director of the nonprofit OutCT, helped organize a June 14 vigil here shortly after she learned of the Orlando attack, in which 29-year-old Omar Mateen used a Sig Sauer MCX semi-automatic rifle and a handgun to shoot and kill 49 people before being shot by police.

Kristofik said she was encouraged by the unity she saw at the vigil, where faith communities turned out in force and the city sought guidance in steps it could take to help vulnerable populations feel safer.

“We’re grateful for the outreach and support we’re seeing locally,” she said.

In the first 48 hours following the Orlando attack, Downs spoke with outlets including the BBC and Boston Public Radio and delivered a previously scheduled talk in New York with — much to Downs’ alarm — police officers armed with machine guns standing guard.

Only after all of that did Downs get to step away from his role as a historian and think about the tragedy, which he said has altered his behavior.

In a gay bar in Los Angeles last weekend, for example, Downs said he was on edge as he took note of the exits, thinking about where he would go if someone were to try to duplicate the Orlando attack.

“In that way, it has been a case of terrorism,” he said. “The terrorist is dead, his victims are dead, but you have someone who’s miles away … debating about whether they may go into a gay bar. If they’re inside one, they’re looking around, noting people who may be suspicious.”

“This is going to stick with people in a lot of ways, in New London and other places,” Downs continued.

Kristofik said while she may be more cautious in the coming weeks, “I will not be changing how I live my life.”

Since the vigil, she’s been organizing a forum, scheduled for Wednesday, and is inviting local, regional and statewide experts to speak about tangible ways LGBT residents can decrease homophobia and strengthen bonds with their larger community.

The idea is that each speaker at the 6:30 p.m. forum, hosted at the All Souls Unitarian Universalist Congregation on Jay Street, will put forth potential actions so those in attendance can pursue the path that moves them most.

“The vigil was to mourn, grieve, respect and honor the victims,” Kristofik said. “The forum is focusing on, what can we do about it?”

O’Neill’s Brass Rail, a gay bar in downtown New London, held a fundraiser Sunday to benefit the shooting victims, with local political leaders and candidates as well as Teresa Berry and Laura Beckham of Berry's Ice Cream acting as guest bartenders.

On Wednesday, Kristofik expects some forum attendees also to attend the Brass Rail’s monthly Hump Day Happy Hour before and after the event.

“We need to continue being out and not be afraid to be ourselves,” she said.

l.boyle@theday.com