Quad Cities LGBTQ+ Organizations Issue Joint Statement AFTER Colorado Springs Mass Shooting

Nov 22

[QUAD CITIES, IA & IL, Nov. 22, 2022] – The Project of the Quad Cities (TPQC), Clock, Inc., QC Pride, Quad Cities Pride Festivals, and Quad Citians Affirming Diversity issued the following joint statement Tuesday in response to Saturday’s mass shooting at Club Q in Colorado Springs, CO:

“We are absolutely heartbroken by the senseless murders that occurred Saturday at Club Q in Colorado Springs. As organizations dedicated to serving LGBTQ+ people, this is truly a confirmation of our worst fears.

What happened on Saturday is the culmination of intense, unrelenting anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric that our community has experienced over the past year. The type of hatred required to commit such a horrendous crime is not born overnight; it is nursed little by little by anti-LGBTQ+ public officials and special interest groups who benefit from attacking marginalized people.

We saw this in June 2016 at Pulse in Orlando, and we’ve seen it again at Club Q. The shooter bares ultimate responsibility, yes. But those who seek to demean and destroy LGBTQ+ people must acknowledge the role they played.

We cannot forget this moment. We cannot simply turn the page and move on with our lives. The five people killed and 18 injured deserve justice. So too do their families. So too does every LGBTQ+ person in our nation.

As organizations serving the LGBTQ+ community, we are committed to fighting hatred and improving the lives of those we serve. We aren’t going anywhere.”