focus on the family colorado springs shooting

A bartender who found a place to shine. Club Q had been considered a safe haven for LGBTQ people in the conservative community of Colorado Springs. Anderson Lee Aldrich, 22, is accused of opening fire Saturday in Club Q, a popular LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs. Candidate name: Tom Strand. Joines said that detectives found a cellphone taped to a hat inside the suspect's car, leading detectives to believe they had considered livestreaming that night. The suspect accused of killing five people in an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs ran a neo-Nazi website and used anti-gay slurs, a police detective testified on Wednesday. (KKTV) The incident comes as Colorado Springs continues to grieve the senseless loss of life at Club Q nearly one week ago. Seals hugs Carter Rodriguez outside the All Souls Unitarian Church. "The families of the five individuals killed in Saturday night's senseless attack are in our prayers," Daly's statement said. Now five are dead, at least 25 are injured, and an unknown number are traumatized for life by an act of violence primed by conspiracy thinking and hateful propaganda, Wilson concludes. However, these laws and policies allow dangerous individuals open admission to public accommodations. / A Pride flag wraps around the altar during a vigil Monday at First Congregational Church in Colorado Springs. Try the Morning Bell and get the days most important news and commentary from a team committed to the truth in formats that respect your timeand your intelligence. Its headquarters have been in Colorado Springs since 1991. Read the full story on the Denver Channels website. We do. COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. The man suspected of fatally shooting five people and injuring more than a dozen others at an LGBTQ nightclub is facing murder Focus on the Family spokesperson Katie Anderson confirmed the sign was vandalized, but wouldnt comment on when the incident occurred. It is no surprise that someone did this in the city that is home to such a hateful organization as Focus on the Family.. 2. We recognize the community is hurting in the aftermath of the reckless and violent actions of a very disturbed individual. After the shooting, Focus on the Family's president, Jim Daly, said that like the rest of the community he was mourning the tragedy. The influx of evangelical groups decades ago was at least in part spurred by efforts from the citys economic development arm to offer financial incentives to lure nonprofits. The graffiti was covered with large sheets of plastic and cardboard on Thursday afternoon. The Daily Signal depends on the support of readers like you. Dozens of people were inside Club Q that night for a drag show; when the shooting broke out, Richard Fierro and Thomas James, two club patrons, confronted the suspect and beat them, which authorities have said prevented even more people from being killed. A non-profit worker with a 'huge heart.' The people who lost their lives that night include: CLICK HERE to donate to a verified fundraiser page to help all the victims impacted. When the Senate recently voted to codify same-sex marriage, holdouts included influential GOP Sens. Their blood is on your hands, vandals spray-painted at the Colorado Springs headquarters of Focus on the Family. In a press conference earlier this week, Vasquez said he wanted to identify the victims how they identified themselves, and how their families have loved and identified them.. It also accuses the evangelical group of conducting "conversion therapy" and claiming anti-bullying campaigns in schools promote homosexuality. At a hearing on Wednesday, prosecutors for the first time provided evidence related to why they charged the 22-year-old suspect with hate crimes as well as murder in the shooting at Club Q. A mass shooting at a popular gay club in Colorado Springs has resurfaced questions about the citys past and future among its residents. Richard Fierro speaks during a news conference outside his Colorado Springs home on Monday, November 21. Police did not announce the Club Q shooting suspects motive, but they face five counts of first-degree murder and five counts of a bias-motivated crime causing bodily injury, court records show. Both women spent weeks inside hospital rooms recovering. "Needs fire.". Politics here lean more conservative than in comparable-size cities. Campaign phone Wilson does not mention that Gordon Klingenschmitt, who runs the Pray in Jesus Name Project, condemned the shooting. In the 1990s, the conservative Christian group Focus on the Family advocated to amend the Colorado Springs Constitution to make it illegal to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation. Over the last several decades, Focus on the Family which is based in Colorado Springs has developed into a nationally recognised, well-financed and influential conservative Christian ministry that has lobbied against LGBT+ rights and characterised LGBT+ identities as a particularly evil lie of Satan.. Focus on the Family is privileged to be one of many organizations in our city positioned to help and support the needs of struggling individuals and families, he continued. 5 hospitalized following a shooting on east, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Get to know all 17 Denver mayor candidates , 5 hospitalized following a shooting on east side of Colorado Springs Tuesday evening, Pueblo County deputies shoot, kill man after shots fired near elementary school, Aurora police ask for publics help in identifying suspects in Christmas Eve double homicide, Denver gang member gave 14-year-old permission to open fire on woman with AR-15 after fender-bender, DA alleges, Letters: Proposed age limit for gun ownership in Colorado doesnt make sense, Sheriff: Armed suspect in barricade incident in El Paso County is shot, hospitalized, Off-duty Denver police officer hits, kills man walking on road, Three Summit School District staffers and a former employee face failure to report child abuse investigation, Denver just got a direct flight to this Caribbean island known for music history and vegetarian cooking, Coloradans may have another chance to see the northern lights Monday night, Feds sue water company for rupture damaging Rocky Mountain National Park -- again, Price of gas in Colorado has risen 51% since Suncor's refinery shutdown in late December. Morning Forecast For some, merely seeing police being careful to refer to the victims using their correct pronouns this week signaled a seismic change. Subscribe to Heres the Deal, our politics Law enforcement agencies have not revealed Anderson Lee Aldrichs alleged motive, but the clubs owners and LGBT+ advocates have condemned a surge of inflammatory anti-gay and anti-trans rhetoric and politicised harassment from right-wing and religious figures and Republican officials in the weeks and months that preceded the attack. She suffered a gunshot wound to her face and her leg while her daughter was shot in the upper leg. COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) - Phylisha Priester-Collins, her daughter and a friend were inside Club Q when gunfire interrupted their lives and changed their perspectives, forever. The Orange County Sheriffs Department did not immediately respond to CNNs request for comment on their handling of Gardens case. Stephanie Vigil was just elected to represent Colorado Springs in the state legislature. A police officer lifts barricade tape as authorities respond to the scene of the mass shooting. The suspect accused of killing five people in an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs ran a neo-Nazi website and used anti-gay slurs, a police detective testified on Wednesday. Colorado Springs shooting victims The Colorado Springs Police Department identified the five people killed at Club Q as: Raymond Green Vance (he/him) "I mean, there's a hell of a lot more than 5 deaths caused by focus on the family," one user tweeted. Springs police say they do not have any suspects in the vandalism. We urge everyone to pray for peace and we also pray for the individual or group responsible for this mischievous and unwarranted defacing of our ministrys property.. People hold a vigil at a makeshift memorial near the Club Q nightclub on November 20, 2022 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. When the spray-painted message was shared on Twitter, several users supported the vandalism. The Human Rights Campaign reports that the organisation and its leaders continue to promote many dangerous ideas, practices and programs that cause real harm to LGBT+ people and their families. Five Ron DeSantis championed and later signed a bill this year that earned the nickname Dont Say Gay, because it banned some public school teachers from discussing sexuality or gender identity with elementary school students. Outside the scene of a shooting at Planned Parenthood in Colorado Springs in 2015. Five lives taken, reads the graffiti on the brick Focus on the Family sign, which outside its facility off Briargate Parkway in north Colorado Springs. But police making the effort to get it right, particularly now, when anti-LGBTQ rhetoric is rampant, is meaningful. Candidate name: Tom Strand. Join half a million readers enjoying Newsweek's free newsletters. She is now running to become Denvers mayor. Thursday evening, the writing was covered with a trash-bag-like material, but it blew off in the wind. But last weekends shooting has raised uneasy questions about the lasting legacy of cultural conflicts that caught fire decades ago and gave Colorado Springs a reputation as a cauldron of religion-infused conservatism, where LGBTQ people didnt fit in with the most vocal community leaders idea of family values. In a Focus on the Family question-and-answer webpage, in response to the topic "struggling with same-sex attractions," the ministry said the word "gay" is an "artificial construct.". Im a woman in a mans body is just one example of the effect of sin in our world. The shooting at Club Q occurred at a time when anti-LGBTQ sentiment continues to flare across the US. This is a time for prayer, grieving and healing, not vandalism and the spreading of hate., Focus on the Family defines itself as a global Christian ministry dedicated to helping families thrive. The organization supports the anti-abortion movement in the abortion debate, and features anti-LGBT+ broadcasts, including Leaving Homosexuality and Finding Forgiveness and Transformed by Grace: Leaving Homosexuality to Follow Christ., The families of the five individuals killed in Saturday nights senseless attack are in our prayers, Daly said. Have an opinion about this article? Focus on the Family is privileged to be one of many organizations in our city positioned to help and support the needs of struggling individuals and families, he PUBLISHED: February 22, 2023 at 9:05 a.m. | UPDATED: February 22, 2023 at 9:06 a.m. COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. Five people were hospitalized To be sure, most people share varying degrees of personal information with family, co-workers, friends, and other acquaintances and that is, perhaps, especially true of people in the LGBTQ community. Residents take pride in describing Colorado Springs as a place defined by reinvention. Will that affect potential hate crime charges? Ever feel like the only difference between the New York Times and Washington Post is the name? There has been a concerted push to shed the citys reputation as Jesus Springs and remake it yet again, highlighting its elite Olympic Training Center and branding itself as Olympic City USA. We must condemn in the strongest terms possible the taking of innocent life., After the vandalism, Daly said the shootings aftermath should be a time of prayer, grieving and healing, not vandalism and the spreading of hate., The families of the five individuals killed in Saturday nights senseless attack are in our prayers, Daly added in a public statement. It was a safe space for the LGBTQ community of Colorado Springs, Club Q was Colorado Springs only remaining gay bar at the time of Flanerys piece. If you would like to share a story idea, please submit it here. Alex Clemons and his daughter Epifania pay their respects at a makeshift memorial near Club Q on Sunday. "Their blood is on your hands five lives taken," the message read. On November 1920, 2022, a mass shooting occurred at Club Q, an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States. Ron DeSantis; and state laws protecting children from controversial transgender medical interventions, Wilson turns to address Anti-LGBTQ Hate in Colorado. He claims that far-right figures actively spread smears, conspiracy theories, and falsehoods about LGBTQ people in the months leading up to Saturdays mass shooting.. Joines also testified that the suspect had used anti-gay slurs in the past, calling their apartment property manager a "faggot" after they had an argument over the suspect not getting their mail. The SPLC has long branded mainstream conservative and Christian organizations as hate groups, placing them on a list with the likes of the Ku Klux Klan. @Tyler2ONeil, Tyler O'Neil is managing editor of The Daily Signal and the author of "Making Hate Pay: The Corruption of the Southern Poverty Law Center.". Wilsons article doesnt mark the first time the Southern Poverty Law Center has suggested that anti-LGBT hate and conservative Christians may be responsible for a shooting at a gay nightclub. A lot of people here know Club Q as being that safe haven., Paige Skinner is a breaking news reporter for BuzzFeed News and is based in Los Angeles. It is no accident that this happened in Colorado Springs, a city steeped in homophobia, transphobia, and white supremacy.. We will not take violence against our community and our families lying down.. Many police departments lack training or specific policies for interacting with LGBTQ residents, according to a report on policing and LGBTQ people by the National LGBT HIV Criminal Justice Working Group, Lambda Legal and the National Center for Transgender Equality. The message reads: "Their blood is on your hands. The department also told ProPublica it would create an LGBTQ liaison program. A Warner Bros. WATCH: Why far-right groups are increasingly targeting the LGBTQ community. In his first court appearance by video Wednesday, suspect Anderson Lee Aldritch still wore many of the cuts and bruises police say he received when Richard Fierro and Thomas James stopped him that night. Instead of relying on IDs or legal identifiers, Vasquez and the police department communicated with victims families through victim advocates, who provided the names and pronouns by which their loved ones were known, Colorado Springs Police Department spokesperson Pamela Castro told CNN in an email. Please check your inbox to confirm. I have been thinking for years, were in the middle of a transition about what Colorado Springs is, who we are, and what weve become, said Matt Mayberry, a historian who directs the Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum. The suspect had been to Club Q in 2021 and 2022 at least six times before the shooting, Joines said, and on Nov. 19 bought a ticket for a drag show there. Someone spray-painted the sign in front of the Colorado Springs-based Christian organization. The suspect accused of killing five people in Bouquets of flowers and a sign reading "love over hate" are left near Club Q on Sunday. COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- Focus on the Family is the target of graffiti referencing the Club Q shooting. Colorado Springs once had a reputation as an unwelcoming place for LGBTQ residents. The Club Q shooting suspect identifies as nonbinary. Below you will find contact information and answers to a candidate questionnaire from The Gazette. It can also perpetuate violence against LGBTQ people and reinforce the belief that trans peoples identities are not legitimate. Opponents of these events often use language that conflates drag performers with trans people and dehumanizes LGBTQ people. She testified that she believes the suspect modeled the Club Q shooting after the shootings they posted on their neo-Nazi website. These attacks should come as no surprise to those familiar with this leftist groups political tactics. Please keep your comments respectful and relevant. A security guard in the lobby prevented the attack, and although the SPLC condemned the assault, it has kept the Family Research Council on its hate map ever since. COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- Focus on the Family is the target of graffiti referencing the Club Q shooting. In addition to the five people who were killed, at least 18 others were injured. Opinion: Colorado farms going fallow? Yemi Mobolade, an entrepreneur running for mayor as an independent, didnt understand how strong Colorado Springs stigma as a hate city was until he moved here 12 years ago. Five people died, and at least 18 others were wounded. A suspect, who was reportedly tackled by club patrons before police arrived, remains jailed without bond. "Not bad enough," another tweeted about the vandalism. CNN Sans & 2016 Cable News Network. The nonprofit organization has an evangelical focus. It is important to us that you understand why Focus on the Family must be held accountable for the ramifications of their hateful theology, the statement adds, pointing to the organisations support for legislation targeting transgender people, its falsified research and support for so-called conversation therapy. Lawyers for the suspect in the shooting said in a court filing Tuesday that their client is nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns, marking the first time that information was public. Whereas Focus on the Family published literature in decades past assailing what it called the Homosexual Agenda, its messaging now emphasizes tolerance, ensuring those who believe marriage should be between one man and one woman have the right to act accordingly. The families of the five individuals killed inSaturday night's senseless attack are in our prayers. A person pauses to pay respects at a makeshift memorial in November 2022, near Club Q. Days after the mass shooting, someone left a spray-painted message on a Focus on the Family sign. ", The article is written by Jeff Johnston. AP writers Brittany Peterson and Jesse Bedayn in Colorado Springs contributed. Michael Robert Travis performs taps while his husband, Michael Travis, films on his phone near Club Q on Sunday. WebPosted 6:25:16 PM. Learn more about Willis here. The man suspected of killing five people and wounding 17 others at a Colorado Springs LGBTQ nightclub will face multiple murder and hate crime charges, 4 min read. A rainbow flag is draped over the Colorado Springs City Hall on Wednesday, November 23, in honor of the victims of Club Q mass shooting. Thats usually the club that most people here in Oklahoma, when they take a trip out there, thats where theyre recommended to go for a safe space, Tempest Cartwright, who was best friends with a Club Q bartender who was killed in the shooting, told BuzzFeed News last year. Colorado Springs, a city of about 480,000 located 70 miles south of Denver, is home to the U.S. Air Force Academy, as well as Focus on the Family, a prominent evangelical Christian ministry. Human Rights Campaign, an organization fighting for LGBTQ rights, posted an article about Focus on the Family, calling the group one of the most well-funded anti-LGBTQ organizations in the U.S. Human Rights Campaign alleges that Focus on the Family uses the $515 million it has raised over the last five years to invest in public education campaigns against LGBTQ equality. Focus on the Family is privileged to be one of many organizations in our city positioned to help and support the needs of struggling individuals and families. Five lives taken.". Misgendering a trans victim of crime can also thwart the delivery of justice. He said the horrific event exposes the evil and wickedness inside the human heart. Did you encounter any technical issues? The US Supreme Court later struck down the amendment. Copyright 2022 KKTV. Now hes grieving the loss of Rump and Aston, both of whom were slain in the club shooting. Your effort and contribution in providing this feedback is much The memorials this week attracted a wave of visitors: crowds of mourners clutching flowers, throngs of television crews and also a church group whose volunteers set up a tent and passed out cookies, coffee and water. People pay their respects at a memorial display set up to remember the five victims of the Club Q shooting in Colorado Springs, Colorado. With the city under the national spotlight, he said the organization wanted to make it clear it stands against hate. Copyright 2023 KKTV. Focus on the Family is privileged to be one of many organizations in our city positioned to help and support the needs of struggling individuals and families. Some trans people dont seek to change their legal names on identifying documents because of economic or logistical barriers, according to the ACLU. The hearing is scheduled to continue through Friday, when a judge will rule if there is enough evidence to take the case which includes more than 300 charges to trial. broadcast ministry Focus on the Family is an evangelical organization founded in California in 1977. CLICK HERE for the GoFundMe Central Hub for donation information. Immediately following the shooting, Focus on the Family President Jim Daly told 11 News sister station CBS Denver that he mourned the tragedy and that the organization wanted to make it clear it stands against hate. In one of the organization's PDF handouts, Focus on the Family writes: "The Bible also teaches that sin has entered the world and affects every area of life. The idea of latching onto a city with a bright future is part of what drew Michael Anderson, a bartender at Club Q who survived last weekends shooting, to move here. In an article published on Focus on the Family's website in 2016, it writes that "Gender Identity Laws Place Everyone at Risk." In 2016 she became the first openly LGBTQ and Black person elected to Colorados General Assembly, representing part of Denver. Focus on the Family headquarters sign vandalized in wake of Club Q shooting. Before the vandalism, numerous news outlets and left-leaning personalities had cited Focus on the Familys conservative Christian stances on homosexual activity while reporting on the shooting. This is a time for prayer, grieving and healing, not vandalism and the spreading of hate," Focus on the Family President Jim Daly told Newsweek in an emailed statement. (Icons, a downtown bar with singing staff, opened a year later in 2021.). All Rights Reserved. The organization's website has numerous "resources" for sexuality. The retired Army major was one of the men who. A deranged would-be terrorist used the SPLCs hate map to target the conservative Christian group Family Research Council in 2012, intending to shoot everyone in the building and smear a Chick-fil-A sandwich in the face of each of his victims. Dealing with things is mentally tough, Priester-Collins told 11 News in her first television interview since the shooting. Though it was later ruled unconstitutional, the campaign cemented the citys reputation, drawing more like-minded groups and galvanizing progressive activists in response. It also causes disconnection and brokenness within. A general view of Club Q as police respond to the shooting. In recent decades the population has almost doubled to 480,000 people. The Colorado Springs Police Department couldnt be reached for comment on Friday. CNN has reached out to the sheriffs office for comment.). The alleged shooter, whose defense attorneys have said uses they/them pronouns, ran a website and posted several videos of other mass shootings, including ones at synagogues and mosques mainly in Europe, according to the Colorado Springs Police Department's Rebecca Joines, the lead detective on the case. Police will often rely on legal names to identify victims or suspects. Jim Daly, the President of Focus on the Family, released a statement in response to the graffiti to KRDO NewsChannel 13: "We recognize the community is hurting in the aftermath of the reckless and violent actions of a very disturbed individual. But since hes been here, he said, it has risen from recession-era struggles and become culturally and economically vibrant for all kinds of people. "We recognize the community is hurting in the aftermath of the reckless and violent actions of a very disturbed individual. WebColorado Springs nightclub shooting. Still, he noted signs that the city was more culturally conservative than others of similar size and much of Colorado: Colorado Springs is kind of an outlier, he said. All Rights Reserved. Daly noted a generational shift among Christian leaders away from the rhetorical style of his predecessor, Dr. James Dobson. Photo by Trevor Hughes/USA Today. Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | Community Guidelines | KRDO Jobs | FCC Applications |, KRDO FCC Public File | KRDO FCC Applications, Breaking News Jessy Smith Cruz embraces Jadzia Dax McClendon in Colorado Springs on Sunday. Jessi Hazelward wipes a tear from her friend Amanda Grueschow's face during a vigil in Colorado Springs on Sunday. Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in, Group claiming responsibily for graffiti points to Focus on the Familys legacy of hateful theology, Find your bookmarks in your Independent Premium section, under my profile, Related video: Police identify Colorado Springs shooting victims by how they identified themselves. Joshua Thurman, who was in the club at the time of the shooting, reacts on Sunday. We recognize the community is hurting in the aftermath of the reckless and violent actions of a very disturbed individual, part of a statement from Focus on the Family President Jim Daly reads.

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