This kind of hate is created by those including right wing media, right wing Christian hate preachers, and republicans in office that are demonizing the LGBTQ+. By constantly shouting into the ears of their faithful / viewers that gays are molesters, groomers of children, sexually abusing your child, that the trans / gays are recruiting your child, that teachers are indoctrinating your innocent kids into sexual experimentation and orgies … all this and so much more vitriol that the right is spewing just incites this kind of stuff. Is this what you pay your elected officials for? Is this what you want your religion to be known for?
The New York Times reports:
At least five people were killed and 18 injured late Saturday in a shooting at an L.G.B.T.Q. nightclub in Colorado Springs, the police said early Sunday morning.
Lt. Pamela Castro, a public information officer with the Colorado Springs Police Department, said at a news conference outside the nightclub, Club Q, that the investigation was only beginning and that the number of victims was subject to change. She added that the victims had been taken to multiple area hospitals.
After the police received an initial call about an active shooting at 11:57 p.m., Lieutenant Castro said, officers entered the club and took into custody an individual they believed to be a suspect. The suspect was also injured and was being treated at a hospital, Lieutenant Castro said.
The Washington Post reports:
Police officers had entered the club overnight as they responded to reports of the shooting and located “one individual believed to be the suspect inside,” Castro said.
She said the casualty toll “is subject to change as the investigation continues,” adding that ambulances and police had transported “numerous people” to hospitals. The hospitals are helping to notify families of the victims, she added.
Capt. Mike Smaldino, spokesperson for the fire department, said 34 firefighters and 11 ambulances were dispatched to the scene to help quickly move people to hospitals.
The club was reportedly planning to hold a drag brunch today to mark the Transgender Day of Remembrance.
Is it any coincidence that Colorado Springs is one of the most conservative cities in the nation? I’m guessing not.
Randy Left Brooklyn Elagabalus • 10 minutes ago
Not just conservative. It is a hotbed of evangelicals, like Ted Haggard, and is also where the evangelicals work to make sure the Air Force academy there stays rigidly Christian.
Expect more of these as LBGTs are vilified and drag queen story time is seen as grooming while youth pastoring is not
Focus On The Family and New Life Church are HQ’d in Colorado Springs.
Probably heard there may have been some drag queens or a possible trans person there, and it was time to do something about it.
As that message is constantly brayed to them. Time for the 2cd and first to be amended.
HanyBaal • an hour ago • edited
$50 million was spent directly by the GOP to vilify queer ppl this election cycle. This is only the beginning.
TuuxKabin HanyBaal • an hour ago
“Playground bullies all grown up.'”
J.Martindale • an hour ago • edited
Waiting for words of condolence from DeSantis for the victims. Of course, the politicians trying to protect the children from grooming who used gays as scapegoats for their political ambition had absolutely nothing to do with this sad, sad occurrence.
They want us to live in fear. There’s no way to “ethnically cleanse” gay people from anywhere. Now another murderer is about to be purged from society. We still exist. He will get to write hateful manifestos from prison, but society will still have gay people because we will refuse to live in fear.
Gay kids will still be born, and we will be here as long as there are people, we’ll remain. He will not change that fact. We will still love each other, but no one will remember or love him.
weshlovrcm • an hour ago • edited
The far-right fascist QAnonGOP and Nazi scum are doing all they can to silence and cancel lgbt Americans! Of course the motive will turn out to be homophobia and/or anger at the drag brunch due to radicalization by far-right fascist social media.
J.Martindale weshlovrcm • an hour ago
The media are partly to blame, but a lot of the media are merely reporting what the goddamned rethugs are doing with their don’t say gay tirades, grooming crap, and transphobia. It is just a game for those bigots. Part of their attempt to encourage homophobia to garner votes.
Scottie's Playtime 
Scottie, I sent you an email regarding this. I’m not so much for writing deep emotion in comments, so here I want to underscore unity with those who are persecuted for existing as themselves, and commitment to continued work to get hatred back out of accepted rhetoric.
Along with common-sense gun control, FFS. Anyway, that’s my comment here.
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Hello Ali. Thank you. Your support and being a friend of the LGBTQ+ is appreciated. It is people like you who stomp out the flames of hatred and harm created by those who think only to attack those that are different. From what we are hearing now the shooter has had mental issues and has a violent history. His family is also very maga. I think there is more to this story yet to come out. Hugs
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My granddaughter and her new husband live in Colorado Springs. I know she’s pretty religious –and most likely he is as well– so after reading some of the comments that accompanied your post, it would seem they have a “reason” for settling there. I’m disappointed.
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Hello Nan. I have heard for years that the Air Force academy in that area has been the target of Christian groups trying to push Christianity on the military establishment. But I don’t think religion had much to do with the shooting. The suspect had mental issues and a history of violence. His family is big time maga. And due to the way he went about this I think it is more personal for him. But time will tell. I seen a picture of him, he is a very large person, 6″6′ and very squarely built. Hugs
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There is an “evangelical Christian” religious draw there, because of James Dobson. Who beat a dachshund for being a dachshund in James Dobson’s bathroom, IIRC. It’s still online; https://www.patheos.com/blogs/wrestlingwithgod/2015/05/james-dobson-on-how-to-get-to-heaven-beat-your-dog-whip-your-kid/ . But his megachurch there has tentacles into the Air Force Academy, as Scottie mentions below. And while CO Springs and its area can be diverse (check out Manitou Springs where vampires are said to live,) Dobson draws a goodly number of people who’d be very much against the crime bringing this discussion, but who also are very much against what the injured do in their private lives. That’s what I know. I’ve lost family members to this awful “religion,” not that I’m encouraging distance in your own family. So many people have the best intent, but we know where the road paved with best intent is said to lead.
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Oops, the link about Dobson’s influence in CO Springs: https://www.npr.org/2005/01/17/4287106/colorado-springs-a-mecca-for-evangelical-christians .
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Ali please know I am liking your comment because you shared it with us, which I thank you for, but not for the content.
My dogs that love gravy. Oh great dogs that have graced me with their lives. This hurts. This man shouldn’t ever have a dog or other pet nor be allowed near children. For those that may not understand, this is the same technique used on me and other abused children. I had such a trouble reading the article I am not sure I got it all. Dogs that loved me the flashbacks to the beatings I took to make me do as someone wanted. aaaaaaaaaaaaaabye
I am back.
Changing to how to handle any being, dog, cat, or something that doesn’t want to do what you demand.
I remember when we first moved to Florida and moved into the light house drive community. There was a “feral” cat that simply was a cat that was without a home. The people around us said they wished they could catch the cat to take it to a vet to help it, not to kill it or remove it. We had been there for less than two weeks, but from what we had seen of the cat it was not a problem, just hungry so we put out food for it. Understanding the cat needed to be checked out, I went to the end of our carport and sat on the driveway. I kept talking to the cat when he came close. He moved ever closer, and I just talked to him. Eventually he moved into my arms. Ron brought out a cat carrier which made the cat uneasy. But he let me put him in the carrier. We took him to a vet, explained the situation, and after they took care of the cat, we brought him home (after paying for the needed medical care) and let him go. It was something that angered the neighbors who seemed to think that when we had the cat we should have made it disappear. For the entire two years we lived there all I had to do was go outside and call for that kitty, and that cat would rush for me. No pain, no punishment, just care and love.
Here in our torn up home we have two outside cats. One that we know was an inside cat who got thrown out of his home after the female in the home died and the male did not want him. The other seems to be very feral. However we and a couple of our neighbors feed both of them. The surprising thing is while the feral cat will back up from others bring out the dry food dishes, as long as I move slowly and bend down and place the dish in front of (we call the cat smokie) the cat will not back up or run but come right up to the dish I am putting down. The cat cannot have sudden movements around it, something I understand. The other cat, the one that was an inside cat we call Tupac. He has adopted our home as his own and stays on our lawn chairs and during the hurricane James brought him in and both of them rode out the worst of it in our small bathroom in the shower that James threw all his laundry and towels into. If it was not for Odie being disabled and not willing to accept another cat, we would take Tupac into our home. As it is during bad weather events we do take him into our family room and make sure he has a litter box and other things a cat needs.
Sorry everyone, sorry Ali. I had to go off on that tangent. The article of what Dobson did to that dog broke my control. (Not your fault Ali, please don’t feel bad in anyway)
So now let me address the fact that this is supposed to be a big time Christian. How do we square that with his actions? He abuses smaller being to get them to do his will. What would he do to a child? He is against the LGBTQ+ in any form or manner because he claims they will abuse children, yet he has shown by his own words how he would abuse children to get them to obey him.
There is no way to give this person credit. We must deny these people any sanctuary or cover because what they really want to do is harm everyone else. We must never allow people like him near anyone that may anger or displease him because he may attack them so violently out of any reasonable response. Hugs
Does anyone know if he was reported for that animal abuse? If not, I will, please let me know. My dogs that love gravy, the imagines in my mind of him doing this, spurs me on to making sure he never owns a pet / or has a child near him ever again. Hugs
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Hugs back, Scottie! I am sorry for posting a trigger. I put that there for Nan to get an idea of the evangelicals in CO Springs, and neglected to recall how the news affected me back when I first read about this. But I’m glad you got back and told us about your feral! It’s so cool that the know good people.
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Hello Ali. I understand. And it is important to understand who / what these people really are. Think on it, the dog he describes is a small dog, a dog you can put your hands around. But rather than pick the dog up this asshole had to make it a contest of wills to prove his authority. He was not man enough, so he had to prove his superiority over a small dog by beating him. if he will do that, beat a small dog to prove how manly superior he is what would he do to a child who disobeyed him or what will he do to a gay or trans person he thinks is an abomination his god hates. What would he do to those he thinks his god hates. It is important people know who this person is. Thank you for sending the link. Yes It hit hard, but it should hit all of us hard because it shows we are humans who care about others, even when they are not our own species. Hugs
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That article is sickening!
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Hello Nan. Yes it is. I just replied to Ali and then backed out to clear my mind. I see now the article is from MAY 19, 2015, so my anger and vitriol may be wasted because if other decent people seen this they would have been sicked the legal authorities on him. But tomorrow when I can stand it, I will repost it to make sure others understand what this anti-LGBTQ+ person really is. Oh shit Nan, I cannot tell you how badly his description of how he beat down his dog to prove his power over him was the same attitude / situation I faced. Damn I am still shaking trying to make it go away. Everything he claims the dog did to fight back I once tried. But it became so clear / painful the beatings were so less if I just gave in. He thinks the dog gave in because he respected him, how the fuck does he think that. I never respected those that hit / hurt me even after I gave in. The dog was beaten not cowed. Hugs
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Two-hundred-pound man with belt wins. Twelve-pound dog loses.
This pretty much sums up what kind of person he is. And people look up to him? It’s probably not nice to say (especially when I have family members that most likely follow him), but any Christian that can read this and see it as “Christian-like” is truly brainwashed.
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I find it encouraging that the assailant was “restrained” by heroic patrons. He may be “in custody,” but it’s in the hospital. I would be interested in reading just how badly he was beaten.
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Hello Ten Bears. It is even more remarkable because of how large a person he is. From the little data that is out he seems to be about 6″6′ and very squarely built. But Yes I would also like an accounting of the take down. And I notice they did it without a gun, so the phrase it takes a good guy with a gun is wrong again. Hugs
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And thank you both for pointing that out.
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Hello Ten Bears. I will post some videos of it. One reason the bar people who took him down had trouble stopping / hurting him was he was covered in body armor top to bottom, even wearing head protection. But the army person said he found a crack between the armor and kept hitting it with the pistol and he told the trans woman there to keep kicking him in the head. Hugs
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OT but … nice photo; I still have some of those sweaters, and twenty-seven Jerry Garcia ties (silk, of course).
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Hello Ten Bears. I assume you mean on the drag queen? Yes I like that style. I posted the pictures released by the cops on the shooters face looked after he was … assisted to stop shooting people by brave heroes. Hugs
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