A vigil to honor the life of 20-year-old Sean Kennedy was held tonight in Columbia. Friends and family shared songs, poetry, prayers and stories with the crowd that gathered at the State House to pay its respects.

It appears that Kennedy, who was beaten after leaving a club in the Upstate in May, was killed because he was gay. The 18-year-old accused of the crime is being held on murder charges in a Greenville jail. The assault has sparked public outrage and renewed pressure to enact hate crimes legislation in South Carolina, one of only four states without such protection. Rep. Seth Whipper (D-Charleston) introduced a bill in March; maybe this tragedy will generate enough heat to move the legislature to act when it reconvenes in January.

Sean Kennedy’s mother, Elke, and sister, Dawn.