Today is Sunday, November 20, 2022. Here we go again! Another violent assault upon the LGBTQ+ community was executed today by a lone 22-year-old gunman, this time in Colorado Springs, at a gay nightclub called Club Q just before midnight Saturday who opened fire, killing at least five people and injuring 25 others, before patrons confronted and stopped him, police said on Sunday. So far, there is no motive yet for the shootings. I would hate to forecast my own explanation for this outburst of violence against a community that has been marginalized by members on the political right in the last few years, which has seen a stunning increase of violence against LGBTQ+ persons across the country. This scene of carnage mirrors the same explosion of violence executed against the gay community in a Florida nightclub called Pulse that resulted in the loss of 49 lives. So here we are again!

This newest gun tragedy is covered in an online CNN article by Eric Levenson, Michelle Watson, Andy Rose, and Amir Vera entitled “Gunman kills 5 at LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs before patrons confront and stop him, police say.”

The suspect has been identified by Colorado Springs Police Chief Adrain Vasquez, but I will not mention his name here, except to say that he used a long rifle in the shooting, and two firearms were found at the scene.

At least two people inside the club should receive the gratitude of the entire community who confronted and fought the gunman, thus saving many more lives that could have been snuffed out by the arsenal of hate brought into a “safe place.”

Police said they were investigating whether the attack was a hate crime and noted Club Q’s relationship with the LGBTQ community.

This senseless act of violence came on the heels of International Transgender Day of Remembrance today which was supposed to honor the members of the trans community that have been victims of violence for just being transgendered. Instead, the country experienced another disturbing act of terror inside what should have been a safe nightclub for its patrons inside.

The state of Colorado has been the site of some of the most heinous mass shootings in U.S. history, including the 1999 shooting in Columbine High School and the 2012 movie theater shooting in Aurora, Colorado. Colorado Springs was the site of mass shootings at a Planned Parenthood clinic in November 2015 that left three dead and at a birthday party last year that left six dead.

According to data from the Gun Violence Archive, there have been more than 600 – 600 – mass shootings in the United States so far this year, defined as an incident in which at least four people are shot, excluding the shooter.

One witness to the mayhem inside the nightclub, Joshua Thurman, told CNN affiliate KOAA he was inside the club dancing when he heard gunshots and saw a muzzle flash. “I thought it was the music, so I kept dancing. Then I heard another set of shots, and then me and a customer ran to the dressing room, got on the ground and locked the doors and called the police immediately,” Thurman said.

Thurman and another person who took refuge in the dressing room stayed on the floor but could hear the violence unfolding, including the gunman getting beaten up by the brave patrons who rushed in and stopped him from increasing the carnage.

The terrified witness, 34, said, “I could have lost my life – over what? What was the purpose?” he said as tears ran down his cheeks. Thurman added this that bears repeating over and over during this horrible scene of tragedy that could have applied anywhere else, “We were just enjoying ourselves. We weren’t out harming anyone. We were in our space, our community, our home, enjoying ourselves like everybody else does.”

Of the 25 injured, at least seven were in critical condition, authorities said. Some were hurt trying to escape, and it was unclear if all of the victims were shot, a police spokesperson said.

The venue is a gay and lesbian nightclub that features a drag show on Saturdays, according to its website. Maybe the gunman resented this feature of the nightclub, especially when members on the far right, including Governor “DeSant-ASS” have openly declared war on drag shows in libraries for no fucking apparent reason. Colorado Representative Lauren Boebert, who supposedly rewon her seat (too bad!) is another voice of hate that should be shut up by her own constituents or other saner voices.

Thus these drag events have become a focus of anti-LGBTQ rhetoric by our unenlightened lawmakers and protests as opponents, including politicians, have proposed banning children from them, falsely claiming they’re used to “groom” children. Why don’t these stupid politicians ever do their homework and shut the fuck up if they have no evidence of anything like this ever happening. Hell, it’s more people on the right who have been arrested for acts of pedophilia than any drag queen, baby! They are just reprehensible and voters should demand that these supposed “representatives” shut their foul mouths when they malign an entire group for no real reason other than to capture votes.

President Joe Biden said that while the motive for the shootings was not yet clear, “we know that the LGBTQ+ community has been subjected to horrific hate violence in recent years.”

Continuing, Biden said, “Places that are supposed to be safe places of acceptance and celebration should never be turned into places of terror and violence. We cannot and must not tolerate hate.”

Colorado Governor Jared Polis, who became the first openly gay man in the United Sates to be elected governor in 2018, called the shooting “sickening.”

Polis stated, “My heart breaks for the family and friends of those lost, injured and traumatized. Colorado stands with our LGBTQ community and everyone impacted by this tragedy as we mourn.”

The club is tucked behind other businesses, including a bowling alley and a sandwich shop.

The political landscape of Colorado Springs is that of a conservative bastion since Focus on the Family is located there. The organization is a prominent evangelical Christian ministry that lobbies against LGBTQ rights. So how welcoming is this community to gay residents, I wonder. However, the group did condemn the shooting and said it “exposes the evil and wickedness inside the human heart.”

Addressing the elephant in the room, which is the shocking numbers of firearms stored in this country among everyone and their Aunt Tilly is the response from Kevin Jennings, the CEO of a national LGBTQ-rights organization, Lambda Legal, who pleaded for tighter restrictions on guns.

“America’s toxic mix of bigotry and absurdly easy access to firearms means that such events are all too common and LGBTQ+ people, Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) communities, the Jewish community, and other vulnerable populations pay the price again and again for our political leadership’s failure to act,” he said in a statement.

So here is another Sunday in the Wild Wild United States and it’s just sickening. Everyone should be sickened by this random act of violence. What its so sad is that this tragedy occurred only a few days before Thanksgiving this year. These victims to a lone gunman will not see their loved ones around a communal table on Thursday or share in their personal anecdotes with everyone sitting there. By the same token, they will be missed at the table horribly by parents, aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters, and cousins. And for what reason? Their only “crime” was to enter a nightclub for some drinks and dancing and to be with other likeminded companions.

That’s all I can write today, as this is enough, really.

Have a good week. Let’s hope we hear nothing as tragic as what happened today in Colorado Springs for the remainder of this week.

Stay safe and be well.