Editor’s Note: This is a breaking news bulletin and will be updated with new information throughout the day.
Five people were killed and 18 injured when gunmen opened fire at an LGBTQ nightclub Saturday night in Colorado. The shooter is in police custody.
The shooter’s motives are not yet known, but the attack at Club Q in Colorado Springs Rising anti-LGBTQ rhetoric, legislation, harassment and violence in the US.
At least two club-goers confronted and managed to subdue the attacker, who was armed with a long gun and at least one other firearm. Adrian Vasquez, Colorado Springs Police Chief. “We are very grateful to them,” he said.
The casualties have not yet been announced and the condition of the 18 injured is unknown. The attacker is being treated for injuries, Lieutenant Pamela Castro of the Colorado Springs Police Department said: she didn’t know what those injuries entailed.
The police received a call at 11:57 p.m. Castro said he arrived at the scene in five minutes, describing the shooting. Attorney General Merrick Garland has been briefed on the case. Associated Pressand the FBI Offered Assistance to the Colorado Springs Police Department under investigation.
“Club Q is devastated by senseless attacks on our community,” nightclub writes in a Facebook post“Our Prayer [sic] And our thoughts are with all the victims, their families and friends. Thank you to our heroic customers for their quick response in subduing the gunman and ending this hate attack. ”
authorities have not attack hate crimesuch prosecution must be based on the attacker’s motives and whether the crime was committed “on the basis of the victim’s race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity, or disability.” It depends. national level. Colorado law Bias is part of the attacker’s motivation, specifically Outline sexuality, but not gender identity As one of the categories of hate crimes.
Club Q’s Facebook page advertised a punk drag show and birthday party on Saturday night. drag queen del ruzinalwho performed that night described the experience on Twitter: I don’t know what to do with myself. Gunshots don’t stop. ”
the shooter carried out the attack the night before trance anniversaryan annual event that commemorates transgender, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming people killed in anti-trans attacks.
The attacks reflect recent incidents of anti-LGBTQ violence.
Also follows multiple Attacks on LGBTQ individuals and institutions It includes a wave of attacks against queer and nonbinary people near the bar Happyfun Hideaway in Brooklyn, New York in the summer of 2021. In April, a man set fire to another Bushwick gay bar, Rash.
In the Colorado Springs attack, pulse nightclub shooting In Orlando, Florida, gunmen who swore allegiance to the Islamic State broke into a club on a Latino night and rampaged, killing 49 and injuring 53. At the time, it was the deadliest in the country. It was also a shooting incident.
especially Colorado Starting with the Columbine High School shooting in 1999, there have been multiple mass shootings in the past 25 years. shooting incident, despite their sustained intensity and deadlines.Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut; Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida; Rob Elementary School Dozens of teenagers and infants have lost their lives in Uvalde, Texas.
LGBTQ rights are at stake in the current political climate
Republicans have stepped up their anti-LGBTQ policies and rhetoric in recent years, especially against trans people. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed the bill into law earlier this year It bans public school teachers from discussing gender identity and sexuality with students in kindergarten through third grade “in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for the student, according to state standards.” the law says.
DeSantis also approved a measure barring Medicaid patients from using the service to access gender-verifying healthcare. The law will affect her more than 9,000 transgender people in Florida who use Medicaid as their primary health insurance, according to a statement from the agency. human rights campaign.
in Texas, republican congressman It pursues policies aimed at transgender children, especially those parents who provide their children with gender-affirming care. March, Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued a directive to the state health agency Regards gender-affirming care as “child abuse” and requires teachers and health care providers to report parents seeking such care to Family Protective Services.This policy against medicine.
More broadly, the Republican Party multiple state legislators It limits or seeks to limit the rights of LGBTQ people, which Democrats and LGBTQ advocates say portends a potential setback at the national level.
To that end, the Senate, which includes 12 Republicans, voted to advance the Marriage Respect ActProtect marriages for LGBTQ couples and repeal the Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as between a man and a woman. is returned to
