No one is to blame for this tragedy but the shooter himself (whom I will not name).
The first thing we should do after every tragedy is honor those that lost their lives. The names of the victims are Daniel Aston, Kelly Loving, Ashley Paugh, Derrick Rump and Raymond Green Vance. We also have to praise the heroic actions of the two men that stopped this crime from being worse. Thomas James is a Navy Sailor who is currently in the hospital recovering from wounds incurred during the scuffle. Army veteran Richard Fierro grabbed the shooter and subdued him with his own gun. These two men are the heroes who stepped in when they had to. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims, their families, and all who experienced the horrific events on November 19.
Thoughts and prayers should always be accepted. After tragedies, we used to come together, at least for a brief moment. Now it turns into partisan bickering before the community even has an opportunity to grieve. After Lauren Boebert offered prayers, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez claimed she has “played a major role in elevating anti-LGBT+ hate rhetoric and anti-trans lies while spending your time in Congress blocking even the most common sense gun safety laws," closing with “You don’t get to 'thoughts and prayers' your way out of this. Look inward and change.”
It is unfair to blame those who call out kids at drag shows and teachers talking about sex with kids, for the action of this shooter. The continued conflation with the word “groomer” as anti-LGBT, makes it seem like being a groomer is an LGBT-only issue. This actually hurts LGBT acceptance, not the rhetoric of those fighting against grooming from all demographics. As well, nothing people like Lauren Boebert do will ever be enough for the AOCs of the World. If she says nothing she will be attacked for not condemning the violence. When she does, she is told she is responsible and has no right to offer condolences. They want to force acceptance of more gun laws, even when the current ones aren't even being enforced.
There seems to be a trend in the last few mass tragedies that the assailant was known to police. The Uvalde Texas school shooting and the Highland Park Illinois 4th of July Shooting are just two examples. The instance at Club Q is no different. The police were called on this man, by his mother, after he threatened her with a homemade bomb in 2021. The state of Colorado has a red flag law that could have prevented him from purchasing a firearm. It could have also removed all firearms from his possession when that instance happened. If current gun laws are not being enforced, then what is the point of passing new ones? That would only seek to take guns from law-abiding citizens, and do nothing to stop people like this. When law enforcement fails it is up to the individual to protect themselves.
The LGBT community, and all minorities for that matter, need to stop embracing gun control. It is killing us. After the Pulse nightclub shooting the Pink Pistols gained a prominent status in society. Their motto “armed gays don’t get bashed” really resonated with alot of people at the time. Carrying a firearm is the great equalizer, when police are minutes away and danger is only seconds away. Or, as we saw at Uvalde, when police are not willing to risk their lives to protect others. Everyone should learn to protect themselves. We are told there is an “epidemic” of trans people being murdered in this country. While the same people making these claims want to take away our ability to protect ourselves. I have been told multiple times over the last few days that conservatives want me dead. While at the same time conservatives are the ones that support my second amendment rights. That's not something that people who want you dead do. If more LGBT people had this attitude they wouldn’t fear people they disagree with so much.
The LGBT acceptance rate declined for a few years, but has recently been at an all-time high. Though progressives claim conservative rhetoric is making people more homo/transphobic. However, they won’t consider their role in their own acceptance. 63% of Americans oppose expanding the definition of “sex” to include gender identity. The same study showed that the vast majority of Americans oppose trans women in women's sports, and parents should be able to opt their kids out of sex ed classes. Yet individuals like AOC will claim that is hateful. While at the same time ignoring violent protests from progressive activists.
Recently a group of women's rights activists were shouted down and threatened by violent trans rights activists (TRA) in New York. Actions that should be condemned by all rational people. However, these actions were justified by progressives. To them words are violence. They claim the women speaking were spreading hate, so they can be hateful in return. When the average person sees this type of behavior, it makes them less likely to be sympathetic to your cause. When it continuously happens, people begin associating all people in that demographic with those actions. You don't gain acceptance by force. You gain acceptance by being a decent human being, and having civil conversations about your disagreements.
Violence is never the answer, and will only push people away from your cause. If it turns out the Shooter at Club Q is right-wing, this will not help the fight against the sexualization of children. At the same time, blaming this tragedy on those fighting to protect children does nothing to help the progressives' cause. If it turns out this person is actually part of the LGBT community, as his Non-Binary pronouns suggest, then the story will disappear and we may never know the motive.
