Club Q co-owner Nic Grzecka said the recent shooting is a result of increased anti-LGBTQ+ hate within the political sphere.
Content warning: This story may include topics that could make some readers feel uncomfortable.
On 19 November, a suspect – who police have identified as Anderson Lee Aldrich – reportedly entered the Colorado Springs LGBTQ+ nightclub at 11:57 pm and opened fire on the establishment’s patrons.
The terrifying attack, which occurred minutes before Transgender Day of Remembrance, resulted in five innocent people killed and 18 individuals wounded.
Before the shooting occurred, the club was hosting a “punk and alternative” drag show called “Delusions,” led by local drag queen Del Lusional.
Over the last few days, LGBTQ+ activists and local Colorado Springs citizens have slowly started to break their silence over the tragedy – including Club Q co-owner Grzecka.
In a recent interview with the Associated Press, Grzecka said that the surge in violence towards the LGBTQ+ community – like Saturday’s senseless shooting – is due to the rise in anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric from right-wing politicians.
“It’s different to walk down the street holding my boyfriend’s hand and getting spit at (as opposed to) a politician relating a drag queen to a groomer of their children,” he told the publication.
“I would rather be spit on in the street than the hate gets as bad as where we are today. Lying about our community and making them into something they are not, creates a different type of hate.”
Toward the end of his interview, Grzecka said he planned to channel his grief and sadness into rebuilding the “loving culture” of Club Q – which has been described as a safe haven and community resource by Colorado Springs’ local LGBTQ+ citizens.
Grzecka’s comments come a few months after the Human Rights Campaign released a report documenting the alarming surge in anti-LGBTQ+ hate on social media platforms.
In the collaborative report with the Center for Countering Digital Hate, researchers found that close to a million tweets between 1 January and 27 July used words like “groomer,” “predator”, and “pedophile” when discussing the LGBTQ+ community.
The findings also revealed that platforms like Twitter and Facebook failed to enforce their policies regarding anti-LGBTQ+ slurs and ads.
Following the release of the report, the CEO of the Center for Countering Digital Hate, Imran Ahmed, opened up about the alarming information in a statement.
“We’re in the middle of a growing wave of hate and demonization targeting LGBTQ+ people – often distributed digitally by opportunistic politicians and so-called ‘influencers’ for personal gain,” Ahmed said.
“Online hate and lies reflect and reinforce offline violence and hate. The normalization of anti-LGBTQ+ narratives in digital spaces puts LGBTQ+ people in danger.”
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