Hypocritical anti-gay Colorado hatemonger expresses sorrow over Q Club shooting

Colorado congresswoman Lauren Boebert was deeply entrenched in the resurgence of right-wing hate against the LGBT community. Her prayers are an insult to the victims.

After a school shooting in May in Uvalde, Texas, which left 19 students and two teachers dead, the deranged Boebert blamed the atrocity on “godlessness that is here overtaking America.”

According to BuzzFeed News yesterday (Sunday), the far-right Republican Christian nationalist—known for her anti-LGBTQ rhetoric, pro-gun activism, comments against Muslims and support for far-right conspiracy theories—commented on the deadly shooting in her neighboring district. She tweeted:

The news out of Colorado Springs is absolutely awful. This morning the victims & their families are in my prayers. This lawless violence needs to end and end quickly.

Boebert’s tweet did not mention that the shooting had taken place at a gay club.

“A notable omission, said BuzzFeed reporter Julia Reinstein, “considering her proclivity for tweeting about the LGBTQ community, typically with unabashed disdain. Much of her ire has been directed at trans people and drag queens, whom she has accused of “grooming” children.”

Boebert is perhaps best known for her gun-rights advocacy and said this summer that Jesus had been killed by Romans because he didn’t have enough assault rifles “to keep his government from killing him.”

Yahoo adds:

Her remarks fell on deaf ears; Twitter users quickly noted that Ms Boebert was deeply entrenched in the resurgence of right-wing hate against the LGBT community.

The freshman congresswoman, who holds a thin lead in a re-election bid headed for a recount, has more than once tweeted approvingly about the right-wing hate account Libs Of TikTok, which targets private citizens and businesses that are seen as members of or allied with the gay community and teachers and drag performers who interact with children.

Those targeted by the account are subjected to relentless abuse from thousands of followers; in one recent high-profile case, the Boston Children’s Hospital received bomb threats after it was maligned by the account.

The Q Club shooter

According to CNN, the 22-year-old gunman, Anderson Lee Aldrich, killed five people and injured 25 others in the nightclub in Colorado Springs, Colorado, just before midnight Saturday, police said Sunday.

After entering the club, he immediately opened fire before at least two people inside the club confronted and fought him, preventing further violence. Aldrich is being treated at a hospital, police said. Officers did not shoot at him, police said.

Colorado has seen some of the worst mass shootings in US history, including the 1999 massacre at Columbine High School. Last year in Colorado Springs, a mass shooting at a birthday party left six dead.

The gunman appeared heavily armed and wearing a military-style flak jacket as he arrived at the club, the club’s owners told The New York Times, citing their review of surveillance footage. One of the owners, Matthew Haynes, said the gunman entered with “tremendous firepower,” the Times reported.

Authorities initially said 18 people were injured but later adjusted that total up to 25.

Aldrich was arrested in June 2021 in connection with a bomb threat that led to a standoff at a Colorado Springs home where his mother lived, according to a news release from the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office at the time, and his mother’s former landlord.

The club was a ‘second home’ for the LGBT+ community

Club Q opened in 2002 and was, until recently, the only LGBTQ club in Colorado Springs.

The city is the state’s second-most populous with just under 500,000 residents and is home to a number of military bases. It is the headquarters for hate group. Focus on the Family, the conservative Christian group that says homosexuality and same-sex marriage are sins.

Lifelong Colorado Springs resident Tiana Nicole Dykes called Club Q:

A second home full of chosen family. I’m there every other week if not every single week. This space means the world to me. The energy, the people, the message. It’s an amazing place that didn’t deserve this tragedy. Something like a mass shooting at an LGBT+ safe space is damaging beyond belief.

Reaction of political leaders

Colorado Governor Jared Polis, above, a Democrat and the nation’s first openly gay governor, issued a statement Sunday calling the attack:

Horrific, sickening and devastating. We are eternally grateful for the brave individuals who blocked the gunman likely saving lives in the process and for the first responders who responded swiftly to this horrific shooting. Colorado stands with our LGTBQ community and everyone impacted by this tragedy as we mourn together.

Colorado’s two US senators, both Democrats, offered condolences in statements and said more should be done for the LGBTQ community.

“We have to protect LGBTQ lives from this hate,” Sen. John Hickenlooper said.

“As we seek justice for this unimaginable act, we must do more to protect the LGBTQ community and stand firm against discrimination and hate in every form,” Sen. Michael Bennett said.

President Joe Biden also issued a statement saying he was praying for the victims and their families.

While no motive in this attack is yet clear, we know that the LGBTQI+ community has been subjected to horrific hate violence in recent years. Gun violence continues to have a devastating and particular impact on LGBTQI+ communities across our nation and threats of violence are increasing.

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