Reports indicate five victims were killed and many more were injured when a gunman opened fire inside of an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs, Colorado, late Saturday night.
As with any other mass shooting, leftist activists were quick to rehash their arguments for stricter gun control. Meanwhile, the LGBTQ aspect of this case prompted some on the left to promote a separate narrative.
A number of progressive pundits, politicians, and media personalities attempted to draw a line between right-wing rhetoric and the violent act.
Democratic California State Sen. Scott Wiener tweeted that the massacre in Colorado “didn’t occur in a vacuum,” adding: “The right-wing is stoking hate & violence against LGBTQ people — demonizing trans ppl & drag queens, calling gay men pedophiles, etc.”
Podcast host Alex Berg challenged news outlets to press Republicans on their “support of ‘Don’t Say Gay,’ groomer rhetoric and anti-trans legislation,” suggesting that anyone who “supported any of this” is “complicit in the Club Q attack and violence against LGBTQ+ people, full stop.”
She prefaced that statement with a tweet declaring: “I will be sick if I see a single Republican politician give their ‘thoughts and prayers’ to the LGBTQ community after emboldening their party and constituents to call us groomers, criminalize drag, and target trans kids.”
Conservatives pushed back against the idea that they have any culpability in the situation and slammed those who attempted to use a tragedy to score political points.
People die and the first thing they think is, "Yes! We can use this as ammo against conservatives who don't think children should be exposed to drag shows!"
Soulless demons. Evil to the core. Truly.
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) November 21, 2022
“I just want to make sure I’m correct in understanding that the Left is using the tragedy in Colorado to make the argument that unless conservatives get on board with experimenting on children’s genitals with puberty blockers, then nightclub shootings will continue to happen,” tweeted commentator Candace Owens.
Authorities say that a group of witnesses were able to detain the suspect, later identified as 22-year-old Anderson Lee Aldrich. He was reportedly injured in the process and was transported to an area hospital for treatment.
Colorado Springs Police Chief Adrian Vasquez issued a statement expressing his “deepest condolences to those families who have lost a loved one and those who were injured in this terribly sad and tragic shooting.”
He went on to affirm that the agency is “working tirelessly to ensure justice for the victims in this senseless and evil shooting.”
Court records indicate Aldrich has been charged with five counts of first-degree murder and five counts of committing a bias-motivated crime causing bodily injury.
