5 people are killed, at least 18 injured in a shooting at a gay nightclub in Colorado Springs

[TotallyOz]

https://edition.cnn.com/2022/11/20/us/colorado-springs-shooting-gay-nightclub/index.html

[TotallyOz]

From the club's Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/ClubQOnline/

"Club Q is devastated by the senseless attack on our community.

Our prays and thoughts are with all the victims and their families and friends.

We thank the quick reactions of heroic customers that subdued the gunman and ended this hate attack."

[bkkmfj2648]

Truly heartbreaking to see this happening in 2022.

Back in the late 1980s and 1990s, I used to live in Denver, Colorado.

I fell madly in love with a US Airforce guy who was stationed in beautiful Colorado Springs.  Consequently, for many years I frequented Colorado Springs.

That was during the period where most of the gay world was boycotting Colorado for passing Amendment 2 in 1992 - which prohibited the state from enacting antidiscrimination protections for gays, lesbians, and bisexuals.  Most of this evil was coming from a group called Focus on the Family.  I was president of a gay group at that time and we were trying to get the gays in the other 49 states to not support this boycott because we wanted their help to fight the bigots of Focus on the Family.  Consequently, the gay community in Colorado was left alone to fight the bigots by ourselves, which was very painful because the boycott was killing off our gay businesses who could have helped to support us financially during these battles.  So, we held many in-state fundraisers to fight the battle.

During this time, I agreed to meet with someone from Focus on the Family in Colorado Springs in a local Denny's restaurant.  That was one of the longest drives from Denver to Colorado Springs, because I was scared to meet him.  We had a very long heated discussion where he hit me with every bible verse about why we were wrong and I tried to convince him that his God also loved us gays and that he needed to accept our right to exist and have equal rights.  It was a lost cause with him and we agreed to disagree. 

Then the incredible happened while we were leaving the Denny's restaurant in the parking lot.  He yelled at me, and said, "Do you know why you gays cannot have any rights?  Because we (Focus on the Family) need to cancel any temptations that may arise amongst us by eliminating you!!"  Then he further said to me, "You gays are the reason why I have to hide from my wife in my bathroom and masturbate to hidden gay magazines...."

So, I lost the battle to convince him - but I gained inside information about this cult and their homophobia.  It was good intel.

Eventually, the citizens of Colorado came to their senses and we overturned Amendment 2, and the gay boycott against us was eventually lifted and our state was once again allowed to be a part of the other 49 states from a gay life point of view.

Focus on the Family - and many other groups like this - are mostly all headquartered in Colorado Springs - so it would not surprise me if we discover during yesterday's gay massacre in Club Q that the culprit was one of these repressed homophobic people that I met back in the 1990s or one of their offspring.....

 

 

[fedssocr]

I've long thought that the most virulent homophobia is internalized. It's so completely irrational otherwise.

The boycott issue has always been thorny. Much like the old Burma boycott I eventually came to believe that supporting the people on the ground was valuable and exposure to the outside world was a good idea.

[Latbear4blk]

 

[Olddaddy]

Is there any States in America that still ban homosexual acts?

[fedssocr]

no. Laws against consensual sodomy were nullified by the Supreme Court (Lawrence v Texas). Of course they might end up re-instating those laws at some point.

[reader]

The patrons of the Colorado Springs club who confronted the shooter have left fellow gays a legacy we shouldn’t ignore. 

When we witness discrimination and injustice in any of its manifestations, we all have a choice. We can confront it or give it a pass. I pray I will have the courage to remember this lesson.

[Latbear4blk]

On 11/22/2022 at 8:27 AM, Olddaddy said:

Is there any States in America that still ban homosexual acts?

 

14 hours ago, fedssocr said:

no. Laws against consensual sodomy were nullified by the Supreme Court (Lawrence v Texas). Of course they might end up re-instating those laws at some point.

In most of North and South America (I am unaware of the situation in Central America, and the Caribbean shows an uneven panorama) there are ample legal protections for gay rights (I cannot say the same of trans). Often the fight is not against legal discrimination but cultural conservatism, specially from religious people. 

In the US many gays speak against Muslim countries' homophobia, and they are right, but they forget that the major threat in our continent comes from the extreme branches of Christianity. Unfortunately these crazy churches are many and are gaining popularity everywhere. They supported Trump in the USA and Bolsonaro in Brazil. Beware of them.

[vinapu]

2 hours ago, Latbear4blk said:

 

In the US many gays speak against Muslim countries' homophobia, and they are right, but they forget that the major threat in our continent comes from the extreme branches of Christianity. Unfortunately these crazy churches are many and are gaining popularity everywhere. They supported Trump in the USA and Bolsonaro in Brazil. Beware of them.

very good point

[Latbear4blk]

Father Of LGBTQ Nightclub Shooter Is Porn Star Dick Delaware

[Latbear4blk]