AUSTIN (KXAN) — Several Central Texas and state-level LGBTQ+ organizations have spoken out within the wake of an in a single day mass shooting at a Colorado Springs LGBTQ+ night time membership that left at the very least 5 lifeless and 25 wounded.
The shooting occurred simply earlier than midnight at Club Q, an LGBTQ+ night time membership. The shooter was apprehended by patrons and has since been taken into custody, per reporting from the New York Times, with NBC News reporting officers are investigating the assault as a attainable hate crime.
“Today we are met with yet another devastating reminder of the very real threats facing the LGBTQ+ community in this country, following the overnight shooting at an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs that was hosting a drag show,” the Texas Freedom Network stated in a press release. “This should be a clear indication to politicians who choose to continue to target and discriminate against the transgender community, especially with legislation that targets transgender children, that their actions and rhetoric can have horrifying consequences.”
In a statement Sunday, the Austin LGBT Chamber of Commerce shared its assist for the victims, their households and the primary responders who assisted at Club Q.
“The fight for equality is not over and we echo Senator Bennet’s statement that ‘we must do more to protect the LGBTQ+ community and stand firm against discrimination and hate in every form.”
Rene Slataper serves as pastor of Hope United Georgetown, a congregation with robust LGBTQ+ roots. He stated this mass shooting is eerily reminiscent of the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, the place 49 individuals had been killed and 53 wounded.
“I think the similar feeling that comes to mind is going back to that idea of sanctuary, and that safety and that being taken,” he stated. “But I also think that in the aftermath of Pulse, people were coming together in the community to ask themselves in what ways can be safer? In what ways can we call on our allies? In what ways can we ask people to stand with us and to stand vigil.”
When it involves LGBTQ+ allies, Slataper stated now could be an integral time to assist assist legislative protections and insurance policies that help queer group members, in addition to to verify in on those that could be immediately or not directly impacted by this assault.
For many LGBTQ+ individuals, queer bars have served as a supply of refuge, group and solace. From a historic standpoint, they’re typically thought of on the forefront of LGBTQ+ liberation efforts.
“When I think of what those spaces do for queer people, it provides sanctuary. And it reminds me of church,” he stated. “And it reminds me of getting together and fellowship and really being with people who know…and for that place to be threatened or for it to feel unsafe feels like people are being gutted. It feels like safety is being stripped away.”
Sunday additionally marks Transgender Day of Remembrance, a world date that honors the reminiscence of victims of anti-transgender violence. Beginning at 6 p.m., Hope United will host a public vigil on Southwestern University’s campus in Georgetown, in entrance of the Smith Library Center.
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