As we come together as a community for Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) at least 5 people were murdered & 18 injured in a shooting at Club Q in Colorado Springs late last night. Authorities report that the suspect is in custody. This horrific shooting is reflective of the 2016 attack at Pulse nightclub in Orlando when a gunman killed 49 people & wounded at least 53 & adds to Colorado being the site of some of the most heinous mass shootings in US history including Columbine High School in 1999 & the 2012 movie theater shooting in Aurora. We have 2 years to get some substantial gun legislation passed in this country to hinder these senseless killing. As we honor Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) today & this week we remember the transgender & nonbinary lives taken this year by anti-transgender hatred & bigotry. With each life taken our community loses so much. In 2022 at least 32 transgender & nonbinary people have been killed & there were probably more because too often these stories go unreported or misreported. This is a national epidemic especially for our Black & Latinx trans women who continue to be disproportionately impacted by these fatal acts of violence & no surprise Florida remains the epicenter. As DeSantis ramps up his unrelenting transphobia in state agencies he’s weaponizing for his own political gain by putting the lives of transgender people at risk passing the Transgender Youth Sports Ban & Don’t Say LGBTQ laws to eliminating life-saving healthcare for over 9,000 transgender Floridians on Medicaid & trying to restrict gender-affirming care for trans youth. Now is the time we all need to speak out & act against homophobia, transphobia, racism & hatred of all kinds.
Our hearts are broken for the victims of the horrific tragedy in Colorado Springs, and their loved ones. This unspeakable attack has robbed countless people of their friends and family and an entire community’s sense of safety. You can draw a straight line from the false and vile rhetoric about LGBTQ people spread by extremists and amplified across social media, to the nearly 300 anti-LGBTQ bills introduced this year, to the dozens of attacks on our community like this one. That this mass shooting took place on the eve of on Transgender Day of Remembrance, when we honor the memory of the trans people killed the prior year, deepens the trauma and tragedy for all in the LGBTQ community. The media must stop spreading misinformation and elevate the truth that LGBTQ people exist, belong and want to live in peace and safety. Elected officials and corporate leaders must act immediately to prioritize this truth, and protect everyone’s safety.
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